Amnesia
by lozielou
Summary: When Flaky wakes up in the hospital, she has amnesia. However when her sister Lammy steps in, Flaky can't help but feel that something is stopping her from putting together all the pieces of the puzzle. Why was she in hospital? What is Lammy not telling her? Will she ever get her memories back?
1. Chapter 1

**AN- Hello! Well I've decided to post another fanfic (I'm so sorry). Please let me know what you think.**

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Chapter 1

A jagged scream slashed the silent fabric of the night.

The girl sat up suddenly, dazed, as if her mind had been rocketed back from some far away place. She clutched the covers around her.

It was so dark. For a moment she thought she had forgotten to open her eyes. But her eyes were so wide, straining. The velvet curtain of night shrouded her as if she was blind.

The scream came again, ripping through the darkness.

Fear's cold knife edge streaked down the girl's spine. Her heart pounded. She wanted to run, but she could not see- and she was paralyzed with fear. Her mind reeled, trying to grasp onto something- anything- to steady itself.

Then another scream tore through the darkness and everything became suddenly, horrifyingly clear.

_The person who is screaming is me_

_I don't know who I am._

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**Please let me know if you want me to continue.**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN- Hello again! Well, here is the next chapter, I have tried to make it longer. The last one was just a short look into Flaky's mind (and to try and get me into the mood for writing). Hope you enjoy!**

**HTFan- Thanks, I'm glad that you like it. There shall be more creepiness to come in later chapters! **

**ashdash2417- Don't worry, this next chapter is much longer. Oh, I have a rather bad habit of not being able to decide whether they are human or not. So please just think of the characters in whatever form you think suits the story best.**

**Scarecrow77- I'm not sure, so far I don't need any, but if I do need one, I will ask.**

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Chapter 2

_I don't know who I am._

The knowledge was overwhelming and horrible. A yawning black chasm of fear opened up inside. she felt herself plummeting down, down into the depths of it, into a void. Her mouth opened and her ears rang with the sound of terror.

Suddenly there was the sound of feet rushing in the hallway, rushing toward her, growing louder and louder. Voices. Then a brilliant flash of light. It shone everywhere, blinding her.

Strong arms gripped her arms, pulling at her. She struggled, thrashed at the unseen beings that wrestled with her. She had not thought it would be possible to be more afraid.

Then something sharp prickled her arm, made her draw in her breath with surprise and pain.

Darkness gathered again. Everything was fading, fading away as she desperately tried to hold on. She was falling, falling dizzily into the blackness. She swirled around and around, whirling downward...

And then she dreamed. In the dream she was in a long dark tunnel. She was trying to run toward the light, but she knew that someone didn't want her to make it. She was being chased by a shadowy figure with fierce, blazing eyes. If it caught her then something terrible would happen.

As the figure chased her, it was shouting something... what was it?

Was it threatening?

Or accusing?

She couldn't understand the words. They were distorted and strange, as when something happened to the sound in a film.

It seemed the longer she ran, the longer the tunnel became. The light seemed farther and farther away. And whoever was behind her got closer and closer, until she could feel the hot breath of her pursuer on her neck... and then pain exploded in her head.

The girl opened her eyes. At first it seemed she was looking up through murky water at a light that was far away. But soon things became clearer and clearer. Finally everything snapped into focus. The tunnel had been a dream. But the pain in her head was real.

It was white everywhere. Sound at first was still muffled, as if she had cotton in her ears. Gradually, sounds sharpened. So did the pain.

Someone was singing tunelessly, repeating the same passage again and again, _tra-la-la, tra-la-la. _A figure in white. An angel? The girl wondered for a moment.

No, her sense told her instantly. The scent she was breathing was disinfectant. Of course, this was a hospital. The angel in a white dress was a nurse.

Well at least I'm not dead, she said to herself. Even if I don't know who I am.

"Tra-la-la, tra-la-la," sang the nurse.

Ever so slowly, the girl turned her head to the right a little. There was another bed in the room. But it was empty.

Why do I know this is a hospital, when I can't remember my name? I can't remember how old I am.

What's my favorite colour? What do I like to do, and who do I love? Where is my family?

It was so incredibly astounding that your life could vanish, like a slate that had been wiped clean.

The girl found that the pain had lessened from a sharp scream in her scull, to a dull steady buzz. Maybe I'm just getting used to it, she thought.

She started to swing her legs over the side of the bed, but stopped abruptly as a white hot flash of pain shot from her right ankle up to her knee and then exploded through her entire body. A noise came out of her mouth that was a scream and a groan at the same time.

The _tra-la-la-_ing stopped abruptly. The nurse came running over, a look of concern on her face. She moved so quickly that her nurses cap tilted on her head.

"Oh, you're finally awake," she said, looking down at her. "Be careful, dear. That ankle was badly twisted. Are you alright?"

The question struck the girl as rather funny. If I was alright, why would I be in a hospital?

But she looked to the nurse and nodded. "Yes," she said softly. It was difficult to speak. Her tongue felt thick and fuzzy. Her lips felt rubbery. "I'm all right," she added, wanting to practice speaking. It felt as if she hadn't done it in a long time.

The nurses face lit up. "Of course you're all right. You're in Happy Tree hospital. Well I'll go get the doctor. Have a lovely day!"

Moments later, the doctor arrived.

"Hello Flaky, my name is Dr. Sniffles," he said.

My name is Flaky. The girl greedily drank the information.

"At least, I'm assuming your name is Flaky," continued the doctor. "That's the name on the bracelet you were wearing when you were brought in. It's in the drawer next to your bed."

Flaky opened the drawer and took the bracelet out. It was a deep-blue leather band. On its surface the name _Flaky _was stamped. It was the only way I know my name, she thought. How strange. She put the bracelet back into the drawer.

"We've been waiting for you to wake up," the doctor said. "Now just relax." He bent down and shone a light in Flaky's eyes, and stood up again before Flaky could pull away.

"So," Dr. Sniffles said briskly, "how do you feel?"

"My head hurts, and I can't remember..." Flaky's voice trailed off.

"I know you have suffered memory loss, you talked about it when you were first admired." He glanced at Flaky and chuckled. "Although you may not remember."

Flaky got the joke, she just didn't feel like laughing.

"Anyway," the doctor continued, "you said your name was Flaky you remembered that much, you got banged around a lot, but it's nothing serious. You'd better get some rest now." He glanced at his watch. "I've got to go. See you soon."

Dr. Sniffles was gone before Flaky was even able to form any of the questions that were hurtling around her mind. What kind of accident did I have? What happened?

As Flaky looked into the mirror, she fought to control the rising panic inside of her.

If this is my face, why don't I know it? She asked herself. Her thoughts whirled in confusion. The eyes that stared back at her were no more familiar than the eyes of a stranger. She wanted to run from the room screaming. You've made a terrible mistake! This isn't my face- this is someone else! Give me back the face that I know! Give it back!


	3. Chapter 3

**AN- Hello! Wow, another chapter? So quick? Sometimes I don't know how I do it. Anyway, I hope the quickness of this chapter makes up for the cliffhanger at then end...**

**HTfan- Well, you can stop waiting for a bit now, and don't worry your questions will be (eventually) answered in the story.**

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Chapter 3

Three days went by, and yet when Flaky looked in the mirror she still had to remind herself that the face that looked back at her was her own. Even her name was scarcely more familiar. She was becoming more used to responding when someone said it. Still she wore her identity like borrowed clothing- she didn't feel like it was really hers.

"Hello, Flaky dear."

"Hello"

Nurse Tra-la-la, who she had learned was name Nurse Giggles ("Just call me Giggles"), bustled in and set up the tray for breakfast, singing to herself and smiling all the while. Then she bustled out, humming her same tra-la-la. Flaky decided that even though she knew her name was Giggles, she would still think of her as Nurse Tra-la-la.

Flaky sighed and stared at the ceiling. I'm in such a terrible mess, she said to herself. Each night as she waited for sleep, she prayed that when she awoke her ordeal would be over, and she would know who she was. Each morning she opened her eyes and everything was still the same.

In the days that passed, Flaky had been examined, tested and questioned until she didn't think that she could take it anymore. There were times she'd been sure she would have run out of the hospital screaming- if only her ankle didn't hurt so much.

Always, there were the same questions.

_What do you remember about the accident?_

_What do you remember about the day it happened?_

She always gave the same answer.

Nothing.

If only I could remember something, some tiny piece of anything, perhaps the awful, fearful feeling that haunts me would relax and loosen its grip for a while, she thought.

No one here could give her much information to help her remember. she'd been found wandering on the highway covered with blood. Someone had called an ambulance, which brought her to the hospital. That's all anybody knew.

"Hi, Flaky. How are you doing today?" Dr. Sniffles' voice pulled Flaky from her brooding thoughts. As always, the doctor sounded a little breathless, and looked a little stressed. But sooner or later that game show host smile, which made her feel so uneasy appeared.

I don't like this place, Flaky said to herself. Everyone is always in such a hurry, and they look so tired.

Yet they're always wearing big smiles. smiling when they don't mean it, and chucking and laughing- when nothing is funny.

It made Flaky think that they were hiding something form her.

"You're awfully quiet today, Flaky," the doctor said, tilting his head to one side.

"I don't have anything to say," Flaky replied curtly. Then she added, "Don't ask me if I remember anything, because I don't. If I did I'd speak up and tell you."

She punched the mattress in frustration.

"It's not fair! A bump on my head and my whole life is taken away from me."

The game show smile vanished from the doctor's face. He looked truly sympathetic and concerned.

"I know it must be hard for you," he said quietly. Then he crossed his arms and looked thoughtful.

"You know, Flaky- although you were in an accident, there is a possibility that the real cause of your amnesia isn't physical at all. Perhaps it's because of something that happened that's so hard for you to face you don't want to remember it."

Flaky glanced up sharply. It was almost as if the doctor had been reading her thoughts.

"Is that often the case?"

Dr. Sniffles looked as if he was considering his words carefully. "There had been many cases when an upsetting occurrence was the cause of amnesia. And there have been many instances when the cause was something else. We know you hit your head, but that's not necessarily the reason for the memory loss. Sometimes amnesia means there's something you're afraid to remember."

Dr. Sniffles seemed like he was about to say something else when he cast a worried look at his watch. Whatever he was going to say was forgotten.

"Darn! I've got a meeting soon."

For a moment the doctor looked flustered. Apparently he realised it, and composed himself. Once more, his face wore the pasted on smile. The whole transformation was so instantaneous flaky couldn't decide if it was eerie or comical.

"Anyway," Dr. Sniffles said brightly, "your memory just might get better before your ankle does. You never know."

The doctor laid a hand on Flaky's shoulder. "I wish i wasn't in such a hurry, because I have wonderful news for you." Incredibly his smile grew wider. without knowing why, Flaky felt her stomach knot into a tight ball of apprehension.

"The good news is that you don't have to stay in the hospital anymore."

Flaky stared at the doctor's smiling face. The full meaning of his words slowly sank in.

"You can't mean it! Where would I go?" she burst out " I don't have any money, and I don't remember who my family is. You can't make me leave this hospital!"

Dr. Sniffles shook his head slowly, with exaggerated calmness. "Flaky, you've got to stop being such a worrier! Everything's going to be fine! You didn't let me finish. What I was going to say is that we have found your family. Your sister has been looking for you and now she's found you. she's come to take you home and help you recover. she'll be here any minute now."

This news caught Flaky completely off guard. Stunned, she realised she'd never considered the possibility of a brother or sister.

I have a sister.

She tried to let the knowledge sink in. A wave of relief swept over her.

Someone knew her!

She could leave this place!

Her sister would take her home.

"She's coming here now?"

The doctor nodded beaming. "Shes' the one who told us you live right here in Happy Tree Town."

Flaky paid no attention tot he name of the town. "My sister will take me to my family," she breathed "Oh, I wonder if I'll remember them?"

Dr. sniffle's smile faded slightly. "One thing at a time. Don't expect too much."

"Oh, of course." Flaky was disappointed at having her enthusiasm dampened.

But it sprang back instantly. Her sister would be here soon! Anticipation surged through here veins. She reached for the comb and mirror on the bedside table. As she moved, she felt a twinge of pain in her ankle, but she was too excited to pay much attention to it.

I hope I reconise her. Perhaps when I see her, memories will come flooding back. Maybe I'll even remember who I am.

"Flaky."

Flaky knew the voice didn't belong to Dr. Sniffles. She looked up from the mirror and her eyes fastened on the figure who was standing at the foot of the hospital bed. The figure was cloaked in purple.

"Flaky I've been so worried about you."

The figure spoke again, but Flaky couldn't see the speakers face.

"Oh, look, here's your sister!" Dr. Sniffles exclaimed.

The figure moved to the side of Flaky's bed. Eyes staring out at her. "I'm your sister Lammy."

Flaky stared back and was suddenly engulfed in a feeling of overwhelming terror. "No..." Flaky whispered. "Stay, stay away from me."

She slid back towards the wall, the movement setting off the pain in her ankle.

In her panic, Flaky didn't feel a thing.

"you're not my sister! I know who you are, I've seen you before! You're not my sister!"

Flaky was face-to-face with the figure who had chased her in her dreams.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN- Sorry for that cliffhanger! (Okay I'm not that sorry at all...but it's the thought that counts right?) Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I have decided to write this story as if the characters are human, it wont change the story at all, it just means I may talk about clothes and hair etc. It really doesn't matter if you still picture them as animals, as I wont really change my writing style.**

**HTFan- Thanks for that, there is always a little part of me that is worried that I may not be portraying the topic of amnesia correctly, so that has relaxed me a bit. And yes, major family issues are on the way. I used the doctors always smiling idea from when I had appendicitis, as that was how most of the nurses and doctors acted.**

**ashdash2417- Well,k you don't have to wait any longer, here is the next chapter!**

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Chapter 4

A tense heavy silence hung in the air. Flaky's eyes darted back and forth between the figure that called itself her sister and Dr. Sniffles.

"Flaky, calm down. You're letting your imagination run away with you," Dr. Sniffles said.

Flaky pressed her back against the wall. Her heart pounded in her chest. The doctor doesn't sound very calm, she thought. She heard the acid edge of tension in his voice.

What kind of nightmare am I in?

A figure had just walked out of her nightmare and was standing close enough to touch her.

As Flaky sat still as a statue, the figure began to unwind pieces of the shadowy purpleness from around itself. In seconds Flaky realised that they were only scarves.

The doctor was right, Flaky thought. My imagination ran away with me. This was a person after all, not the dark figure from my dreams.

That figure was a creation of fantasy.

Her terror drained away.

"I'm sorry," she said, feeling her taut muscles go limp with relief. "I saw you wrapped up in those scarves and you reminded me of something I saw in a dream..." Flaky let her voice trail off. She felt silly about screaming like a frightened child in the dark.

"That's okay," Lammy said, putting the scarves on a chair, she smiled. "Well now do I look familiar?"

Flaky had absolutely no recognition of her.

She could have been anyone.

Including a complete stranger.

She's my sister, and we don't even look the least bit alike, she thought as she looked back at Lammy.

"I don't remember you," she said with a shake of the head.

"Don't worry, the memory will come," Lammy said, her eyes looking into Flaky's.

Well at least she isn't grinning and chuckling in the patronising way the doctors and nurses do, flaky thought, deciding to point in Lammy's favour.

"I'll let you two be alone for a while. I've got to dash," said Dr. Sniffles. "Now Flaky, everything will be just fine, so you relax."

Then tension in the room dropped as soon as the doctor was gone. "Relax!" echoed Flaky. "I can't remember who I am, and he wants e to take it easy!"

She propped herself up with her elbows.

"Have you noticed that they have kind of a strange bedside manner here?" She grinned broadly and did a perfect immitation of Dr. Sniffles. "Hey, so you're in a hospital. Things couldn't be better!"

Flaky started laughing in spite of herself. Lammy looked at her quizzically for a moment, and then she started laughing too.

Lammy has an unusual kind of laugh, Flaky thought. It was kind of a hiccup.

When the laughter died, Lammy faced Flaky with a somber expression. "Do you remember anything about what happened?"

There was that question again. "No. Everybody's been asking that over and over again. I'll tell you the same thing that I tell them. No."

A single hiccuping laugh issued from Lammy's lips. Then a look of surprise crossed her features as if she wondered where the laugh came from. "I'm sorry," she said. "I don't know why I laughed. I don't think it's funny."

An expression of seriousness settled like a cloud over her features. She crossed her arms over her chest, walked to the window, and looking out. Without looking at Flaky, she said, "You mean that you really remember nothing?"

"I said I didn't. I was hoping you could tell me something."

Lammy was silent. she just kept looking out the window. The more the silence deepened, the more apprehensive Flaky became. What wasn't Lammy saying? Each second that ticked by became an eternity.

Lammy was so quiet and still, as if she had gone off somewhere in her mind. "Lammy, there must be something you can tell me about what happened," Flaky prompted.

Flaky watched as Lammy blinked several times. She stood up straighter. It was as if she was returning from wherever she had gone in her thoughts. Finally, she began to speak. "You know..."

"Tra-la-la. Isn't it wonderful that you two have found each other?" Nurse Tra-la-la hurried in with the breakfast tray. "You two must have so much to catch up on. Tra-la-la."

She put the tray across Flaky's bed. Smiling as usual. However, when she glanced up and saw the tension on the girls faces. Her smile vanished. "Oh, my," she murmured. "I won't intrude on you two. I can see that you have a lot to talk about." Then without a word, she hurried from the room.

She's right you know," Flaky said quietly when the nurse was gone. "We have a lot to talk about." She clasped her hands together.

Carefully she pushed the tray away, pulled the covers back, then turned, slowly lowering her feet on the floor. She sat on the edge of the bed and looked at Lammy earnestly.

"Well go ahead and tell me something. It doesn't matter where you start, since I don't know anything."

Lammy pressed her lips together in a thin line. "All right," she said finally. "Let's get you out of this hospital first, and then we can have a long talk. But I warn you. You're not going to like some of the things that you are going to hear."


	5. Chapter 5

**AN- Here's the next chapter, you lot will finally find out what Lammy needs to tell Flaky. However I won't apologise for the cliff hanger, mainly because, I have put another one at the end of this chapter. Wow.. I am horrible...**

**HTFan- Well you will finally find out what Lammy needs to tell flaky now!**

**BlackTails25- Thanks! I do try to keep this story as awesome as humanly possible!**

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Chapter 5

"There's hardly any traffic. Isn't that wonderful!" Lammy said without taking her eyes off the road.

Flaky looked at her for a moment, startled by the enthusiasm in her tone. Too much enthusiasm she thought. Lammy turned and gave her a warm smile.

"Sometimes this road is so congested," Lammy said in the same bright, smiley tone. While she went about the traffic, Flaky tuned her out. She wondered how much longer Lammy would go on about trivial matters before getting down to what was really important, like the events surrounding Flaky's arrival in the hospital.

Soon she was lost in her own thoughts.

Barely an hour ago, I didn't even know who I had a sister. Now here we are, on the highway headed for home, she said to herself.

What would home be like?

Flaky stared out the window at the scenery whizzing by. She kept hoping for a spark of recognition that didn't come.

"Okay," she said, turning to Lammy after they had drove in silence for a while. "You promised to tell me everything once we were on the way home. Well, here we are."

Flaky saw Lammy's jaw tense, and she gripped the steering wheel so tight, her knuckles whitened.

"There's something they didn't tell you at the hospital that might come as a bit of a shock." Lammy glanced at Flaky. "I hope you wont be upset." She took a deep breath.

"You mentioned that your whole life had changed in a couple of days, but it's not a few days Flaky. You've been in a coma for four months."

Flaky drew in her breath sharply, and then blurted, "Four months! It's not possible! When I woke up I thought that I had been sleeping for a long time, and nobody had told me any different. Why didn't they tell me? And why didn't you tell me at the hospital?"

The car went over a pothole. "Oospie daisy!" Lammy gasped in surprise. The expression sounded strange and jarring to Flaky's ears. When Lammy recovered herself, she said, "At the hospital they told me to not give you any news that might upset you. Perhaps they were wrong."

"Wrong," echoed Flaky, feeling betrayed. She had lost four months of her life, and no one had told her, until now.

She slumped back against her seat for a moment. Then sat up straight.

"It appears that I have a lot of catching up to do, so we might as well start. Tell me about myself. What do I like to do? Do I have a best friend?"

"Sure." Lammy smiled at her warmly. Her face lit up. "One thing I can tell you is that we have a great relationship. We're about as close as two sisters can be. We're practically inseparable."

"Good." Flaky nodded. "But do I have a best friend?"

The smile on Lammy's face faded. "You have other friends, I suppose. You never talked about them. It always seemed that we were best friends."

Flaky heard the hurt in Lammy's voice. "I'm sorry if there are some important things that I don't remember."

After a moment Lammy shrugged. "That's okay. It's not your fault," she said tightly. "You'll remember soon enough. On to the next question."

Her understanding made Flaky feel guiltier than ever. She took a deep breath. "Am I popular? Do I have a boyfriend?"

Lammy's face fell. "Those things weren't very important to you. People always liked you, but you've always been kind of shy, on the quiet side. You preferred to keep to yourself and spend time doing things at home."

"Really? What things?"

Lammy's smile returned. "We spend a lot of time together, talking, playing games like checkers, chess, cards. You love to play hearts. Oh, and we do crossword puzzles a lot too."

"Oh." Flaky drummed her fingers on the dashboard and looked out of the window.

Lammy went on talking. "We never went out much. We were always happy at home, with each other."

Flaky exhaled in a long sigh. "Well, how about you? Do you go to school, or have a job?"

The question had barely left Flaky's lips when Lammy piped up, "I'm an executive with a company downtown. It's a big job, but it's really really boring. It's nothing to talk about."

In spite of what Lammy had said about her job being boring, a little smile was creeping up on her lips. She looked quite pleased with herself. "I'm sure you're just being modest about your job," Flaky said. "It must be very interesting. Tell me about it," she prompted.

Lammy's reaction surprised her. "No," she said shortly. "It's a big executive position, all right. But dull. I don't like talking about my job," She tapped her fingers on the steering wheel.

"Oh," Flaky said, and sighed again. Everything about their lives sounded so bland, so dull, so dreary. I'm just finding out about myself and already I'm wishing I were somebody else.

Lammy turned off the motorway. They drove until they reached the streets of a small town.

"This is Happy Tree Town," Lammy said, her voice once again bright with enthusiasm. Once more Flaky searched for something she recongised, but found nothing. The town was very small and they drove on past a tiny shopping center with a pizzeria at one end. Moments later Lammy turned again onto another street that ended up being a cul-de-sac. There was an old fashioned frame house, painted grey at the end.

"Here's the house," Lammy said. She turned to Flaky with a large smile on her face. "It's so great to have you home." She maneuvered the car into the driveway beside the house.

Flaky noticed that the yard was unkempt. The grass was spotty and dotted with weeds.

Lammy pulled into a small dark garage. "Shouldn't our parents' car be here?" Flaky asked.

Lammy stopped the car ans sat staring straight ahead. She didn't look at Flaky, whose senses suddenly went on alert. "Our parents are here aren't they?" asked Flaky.

When Lammy still said nothing, a warning bell sounded in Flaky's brain. It started of quite faint, but was gradually getting louder and louder.

"Lammy, they're here, aren't they?" she repeated. "why don't I see their car? Why don't they come out?" Flaky spoke faster and faster. Her voice took on a strained, high-pitched squeak.

Lammy put her head in her hands. "I'm so sorry Flaky. I tried to tell you sooner, but this is hard for me too."

"What?" Flaky's nerves were stretched taut to the breaking point. Her eyes, growing accustomed to the dimness of the garage, taking in its untidiness, the handful of odd cans and rusty tools on the shelves. She heard the sound of breathing, coming in short, shallow gasps.

She knew, knew that Lammy was going to say something horrible, unthinkable.

Time slowed as she waited.

She prayed it would stop.

But it didn't.

"I told you that there were things you wouldn't want to hear, Flaky." Lammy raised her head and looked at Flaky. Her eyes glittered wetly. "Our parents are dead. They died in the same car accident that put you in the hospital."


	6. Chapter 6

**AN- Well I honestly think this is the longest chapter I have ever written. I think I need to get one of those 'life' things. Anyway, on with the story!**

**HTFan- You've done it now... Flaky has been jinxed! Just kidding, she was jinxed long before you posted that review. However I do promise to at least attempt to answer all your questions to a satisfactory level in later chapters. **

**BlackTails25- Yeah, I do like to keep people on their toes. (Though I will admit it at the expense of these characters)**

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Chapter 6

Lammy opened the door that led from the garage to the kitchen and stepped aside. "Go on in Flaky, you're home." Her face was lilt up in a wide grin that Flaky found strange, considering she had been talking about their parent's death moments ago.

I've been in a coma for months. She's had time to adjust, she reminded herself. Her mind was numb with shock at the news. The excitement she had felt about entering her home had vanished.

She had such an eerie feeling of unreality. She was sorry her parents were dead, and yet she could not grieve for them, because she didn't even remember them. "Come on in," Lammy urged.

Flaky took a deep breath and stepped into the kitchen. It was scarcely brighter than the garage. The shades were pulled down, and the curtains closed. They were green with ruffles.

Looking around, she saw it was a plain sort of room, not dismal, but certainly not cheery.

The cabinets were white, the walls painted green. The floor was black and white squares. In one corner stood a large, ancient looking fridge.

Nothing looked familiar.

"Come on and have a look at the living room," Lammy said leading the way.

Limping, Flaky followed her into a room that was darker than the kitchen. Heavy drapes were pulled shut, blocking out all but a few thin fingers of light that filtered through. The effect was like being in a cave.

She maneuvered herself painfully over to the windows. "It's so dark in here," she exclaimed, pulling at the heavy drapes. After a moment of exclamation, she found the cord to pull them back. "There that's better!"

"The sun fades the furniture," Lammy said swiftly. She began pulling the drapes closed again.

"Lammy, wait! I can't remember anything if I can't see it," Flaky cried. "Besides, it's creepy to have all the sunlight shut out of the room. It's like we're hiding or something."

Lammy hesitated. After a moment she released the drapery cord. "Well it's not good for the furniture," she said again. She fixed Flaky with a narrow gaze of disapproval.

Flaky ignored her and turned to look around the living room. The mantle was adorned with an ornate brass clock. There were several overstuffed chairs in the room, each with a scarf of crocheted lace over the back and on each arm.

The rugs were deep burgundy oriental, and all the wood a dark mahogany. Every available surface was covered with porcelain figures if people or animals.

It was the overall appearance of the room rather than any detail, that created the most startling impression. It was something out of a time warp. The kind of room you would see in old films. They eyes of the porcelain figurines seemed to be silently vigilant, staring at her.

"Some of these pieces are collectors items," Lammy said, her voice full of pride. She gestured toward a figure of a sleeping dog. "This one's a hundred years old."

"It's nice," Flaky said, not knowing what else to say. The figure of the dog didn't look antique to her, it didn't even look very interesting. One thing though. It wasn't dusty. In spite of the myriad of knickknacks, there wasn't a speck of dust in the room.

"You really need to keep the place in top shape," she said. "With a demanding job, you must have someone to help with the cleaning. "

If you do maybe that person will help me remember.

But Lammy was shaking her head. "Goodness no," she exclaimed, with a shocked expression. "I wouldn't dream of it. I do it all myself. That way i know it is done right."

Before Flaky could say anything, Lammy said "you must be hungry."

Suddenly, Flaky realised that she was famished. As if on cue, there was a rumbling in her stomach. "As a matter of fact, I'm starved," she said running her hand along the arm od a overstuffed chair. It felt velvety, but not familiar.

Lammy disappeared into the kitchen. Flaky heard the sound of her walking across the floor. She heard the fridge open and close.

"I just realise how sick I've been of that hospital food!" she called to Lammy. "Hey, I've got an idea! Why don't you call and order a pizza!"

There was no reply. "Lammy did you hear me?" she called again after a moment.

"You don't like pizza. Neither one of us does." Lammy's voice came drifting into the living room.

The words struck Flaky like a drenching of cold water. It was impossible to describe how strange it felt to be told what sort of food you liked, or didn't like.

"Well my stomach doesn't remember that I don't like it. Let's give it a try." Flaky said defiantly. She went back to examining the contents of the room.

There was a table crowded with pictures. She picked one up, and saw the face of a worried-looking middle age couple. There was another framed portrait of them , and another one with a child who was unmistakably Lammy.

They must be mum and dad, she thought, wishing that she could feel a glimmer of recognition. Painfully, she limped over to the mantle, where there were more pictures. She picked them up one after the other, trying to connect with her past.

"You don't like pizza," she heard Lammy say, so close behind her that she jumped, and turned around. Lammy was holding a carving knife, the blade glinting in the stream of sunlight that filtered through the blinds.

"I think it's probably better if you try and do everything as much they way you used to as possible, don't you?" She saw Flaky stare at the knife, she lowered it.

"Take it easy. I was going to make you a luncheon meat sandwich. It's your favorite."

Mentally, Flaky searched the recipe file in her mind. Sandwiches. Luncheon meat. Luncheon meat. Luncheon meat.

"Luncheon meat?" she laughed nervously.

"Isn't that an awfully big knife to cut luncheon meat? Anyway, I don't think I like that,"

Lammy tilted her head to one side. "How can you say that Flaky? You know you don't remember." She put her hand on one hip. "Trust me. It's your favorite." Her tone carried a finality that allowed no more argument. "I'll have for you in a second." she began to walk back into the kitchen.

"Can't I help?"

"No," Lammy said firmly, without turning around. I'm going to take care of you until you get better. That's what sisters are for."

Feeling a little frustrated, Flaky watched her go. Lammy had insisted on doing all the packing before they left the hospital too. Flaky didn't like the way Lammy had taken over.

As soon as the thoughts had voiced themselves inside her mind, she felt guilty. Lammy was doing her best to help, and yet she wasn't feeling very grateful.

I'll let her do everything for a while if that's what she wants. after all, she's been very nice, and she's trying so hard.

Once again Flaky went back to examining the pictures. There was Lammy around age six playing in the snow.

What was I doing that day? she wondered.

Will I ever remember?

Lammy appeared as silently as before. Flaky didn't know she was there until she spoke.

"Sandwich is ready. C'mon."

"Go ahead. I'll be a minute. I just want to look at these photographs a little longer."

Lammy crossed her arms and spoke as if she was addressing a child. "Now Flaky, you need to keep your strength up if you're going to get better. You can look at the photos later."

Flaky felt a prickle of irritation. She's only trying to help, she reminded herself. "All right."

Ever so slowly, to try and keep the pain in her leg to a minimum, Flaky followed Lammy to the kitchen.

Two glasses of milk and two identical sandwiches were on the table.

"You're sure I like luncheon meat?" Flaky asked in disbelief as she eyed the sandwich on the table.

"It's your favorite," Lammy told her again, smiling encouragingly.

Flaky sat down. With resignation, she took a bite of her sandwich. I twas every bit as bad a she'd imagined it would be. She swallowed the bite with difficulty and drank several long gulps of milk.

Across the table, Lammy was eating hungrily. She barely even paused between bites. It looks as if she's the luncheon meat lover, Flaky thought. Then the sight of Lammy's bag on the counter made her think of something.

"Lammy, could I have a look at my bag? Looking at my ID and anything that may be inside might help me remember something. Even just seeing the bag might help."

Across the table Lammy was already shaking her head before Flaky finished speaking. She swallowed, and then took a drink of milk.

"Sorry I'm afraid they never found your bag. It was lost in the accident." She spoke quickly, hardly looking at Flaky's face. Then she went back to eating her sandwich.

"That's too bad," Flaky said softly. Then another thought occurred to her. "Well maybe I'll remember some faces when I go back to school. I must have an awful lot to catch up on. It's kind of scary to think about how much work I must of missed."

Lammy swallowed the last bite of her sandwich before replying.

"Flaky". She smiled and shook her head. "You can't possible think about going back to school in your condition. Why, you've missed months of work and you still have a lot of recovering to do."

Lammy carried her dish to the sink and began washing it. "I've already discussed everything with the head of the school. You'll start back next year. It's what everyone thinks is best." She turned and grinned at Flaky in a strangely maternal fashion.

Once again, Flaky felt a bewildering combination of resentment at being treated like a child and guilt because Lammy was only trying to help. "I'm sorry," she said after a moment. "I didn't realise how tired I was. I think I have to lie down." She suddenly realised what had been intended as an excuse to get away from Lammy's hovering presence, and to get out of eating that awful sandwich, was really quite true.

Lammy looked at her with a pinched expression. "What's wrong with your sandwich? You haven't touched it."

"Nothing wrong with it," Flaky said hurriedly. "It's great. I'm just so tired..."

After a moment Lammy's expression cleared. "That's too bad. I was hoping that we would have time to talk. I'll just take you upstairs to your room."

"I could just nap on the couch." Flaky thought of the pain her ankle would feel if she had to climb stairs.

"No," Lammy said in a no-nonsense voice. "You belong in your room."

"Alright," Flaky said. She was too tired to argue. Already she had realised that Lammy's mind was not easily changed once she'd decided on something.

"By the way," she said, as she got up from her chair. "Did I get along with our parents?"

"Oh, wonderfully," Lammy said with a smile. "Everything was always just wonderful." She took Flaky's arm and helped her to her feet.

"Come on. I'll take you to your room now."

The trip upstairs was slow and painful. Flaky had to lean heavily on Lammy's arm. When she finally got to her room she collapsed on the bed with hardly a look at her surroundings. She was surprised and thankful that Lammy had left her alone and didn't insist that she change into pajamas.

As she drifted off to sleep, a vague, unformed worry that had been hovering around the edges of her mind suddenly sharpened to crystal clarity. If she hadn't been so tired it would have kept her awake.

Lammy said that she and her parents got along well.

In fact, everything was perfect.

Why was it, then, that in all the dozens of family pictures that crowded the tables and mantel, there had been none of her?


	7. Chapter 7

**AN- Hello again, looks like it's time for another update! Just to let you know, I had a strange case of writers block, so sorry that nothing much happens in this chapter, don't worry I'm on the right medication and soon I will be better!**

**HTFan- Well the mystery grows in this chapter, so you will have more to ponder.**

**BlackTails25- If you think that's suspicious, read on!**

**StariChanx- I'm so glad you are loving the story. I had no idea what "yandere" meant, so I did a quick google search and got this: _Yandere is a portmanteau of two Japanese words yanderu, meaning to be sick, which is defined as strongly and deeply exhausted, infatuated, moonstruck, head over heels or lovestruck or in this case lovestruck. _And I'll have to tell you that's not the case.**

* * *

Chapter 7

Flaky opened her eyes. She was still caught between waking and sleeping, still half in a dream.

She wanted to stay inside the dream. When it began, the wind was rushing past her. She was rocketing down a pitch at speed, dribbling the ball between her feet.

The dream began to spin away form her. As hard as she tried to hold onto it, it still sipped away, melting into nothingness, lost to her as she emerged through the cloud of sleep, and then awakened.

Her mind spun.

Where am I?

The question shouted inside her head, echoing. Then she remembered she had been in a hospital, and now she was at home, in her own room.

She lay still for a moment until the pounding of her heart slowed. Out of the window she could see that the first fingers of twilight were just beginning to reach across the sky. She must have just dozed off for a few hours.

She sat up slowly, and gently lowered her legs to the floor. Her hands felt her sore ankle. It was swollen. Well, no wonder, she thought. She'd done a lot more walking than she would have done if she was in a hospital bed. And then Lammy had insisted that she walk up those stairs.

She inched over to the door to turn on the light. She remembered that light switches were always near the door. The room was flooded with light.

There's hardly any furniture in here, Flaky thought as she examined her surroundings.

Against one wall was a small, square desk with a metal lamp. In front of it was a straight back wooden chair.

A dresser in front of the mirror over it stood against another wall. It was plain, made of some sort of wood. Flaky ran her hand over it. I think it's pine,s he said to herself, and immediately wondered why she thought she knew what pine looked like if she knew nothing about her own life.

Dr. Sniffles had explained to her about things like that in the hospital. Even though she had amnesia about everything personal, she might remember all sorts of other things, who the current prime minister was, how to make seafood, how to use a microwave, and what pine was. There was just no sense to it.

She decided that her room was less creepy than the rest of the house.

It didn't even look like it belonged in the house.

Although evidently I'm not a very imaginative decorator.

She began to notice some strange little details about the room. For one thing, there were no pictures or posters of any kind on the walls. In contrast to the living room, her room had no brick-a-brack.

There isn't even any sort of technology. You'd never know that this was a teenagers room. In fact you wouldn't know much about the person who's room this was at all.

The only impression you'd get is that this room belonged to somebody with absolutely no imagination. No wonder I don't remember anything. There doesn't appear to be anything to remember. A feeling that was a mixture of unease and disappointment stirred inside her.

Sighing, she opened her wardrobe. I hope my clothes aren't as bland as everything else in my life.

The wardrobe was filled with grey.

Everything was plain, drab and dull.

The mixture of unease and disappointment was getting stronger.

"Let's try the drawers," she whispered aloud. "Maybe that's where I keep all my colourful stuff." She pulled open the bottom draw and found herself staring at more grey.

I was afraid that that's what I would find, she thought, shuffling through the contents of the drawer. The other drawers were exactly the same.

By the time Flaky had slid the last drawer closed, she was feeling disgusted and dejected. There's nothing with any personality or style whatsoever here, she thought, dropping down onto the bed. I hardly know anything about myself, and all I want to do is change!

She glanced at the leather bracelet on her wrist. I like this. She thought. It's a whole different style from the clothes. It's hard to believe I chose them both.

After a moment she got up and limped over to the desk. The contents gave even less information than her clothes had. All her desk drawers were empty. There wasn't even a single pencil or piece of paper.

Weird.

She gazed round the room, the thought sinking in that this was supposed to be the room she had lived in all her life, and yet there was not one personal item, no photos, no letters, nothing. She looked down and saw that her hands were shaking.

At first the room had seemed less creepy than the rest of the house. Now it was creepy in a different way.

Something was wrong here.

Dead wrong.

She went to the wardrobe again and opened the door. Once again she examined the clothes.

They may have been drab, but they looked new. she picked up the sleeve of a jumper. Then she noticed that the labels were still attached to it. The labels were on the shirts next to it too.

Quickly she riffled through every item in the wardrobe. Everything still had the labels on.

Growing more and more fearful, Flaky pulled out the top drawer and emptied the content out onto the bed. The labels were on all the clothes in there too.

Flaky sat down on the bed amidst the contents of the spilled drawer. Thoughts whirled around her head.

Her bag had been lost in the accident. She had no identification whatsoever.

She didn't even remember this house, or this room. She couldn't remember the clothes, because none of them belonged to her, they were all new. There were no photographs of her. There was nothing there to indicate that she had lived there at all.


	8. Chapter 8

**AN- Hello again, here is another chapter. The best thing about writing this story has to be those old timely phrases Lammy uses (though it does take a while to come up with them!) I really don't have much else to say, so I'll just get on with it!**

**HTFan- Well you've just said it again! Honestly though, things may get a little worse for Flaky, so just hang in there and, well we'll see what happens to Flaky.**

**ashdash2417- It does look like Lammy isn't being much help in the sense of getting memories back, however she will eventually get them back.**

**StariChanx- Well prepare to be even more confused!**

**BlackTails25- That question will eventually be answered.**

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Chapter 8

"Lammy!"

Flaky looked up and saw her standing in the doorway, still as a statue, with a stone-like expression on her face. Flaky hadn't heard the footsteps, but she'd suddenly had the sensation of being watched... she'd felt her presence as surely as if Lammy had reached out and touched her. Sure enough, when she'd looked up from the pile of clothing on her bed, there was Lammy.

How long has she been standing there? Flaky wondered. Lammy was leaning against the door frame with the relaxed attitude of someone who has made herself comfortable. From the way she looked, Flaky imagined she hadn't just arrived, but had been there a while, watching as a drawer after drawer was emptied.

"Flaky, what in the world have you been doing? Why are the clothes scattered all over the bed?" Lammy's eyes glittered with a hard, brittle brightness.

Flaky felt her gaze wander over Lammy's face, examining it once again for resemblance between them. There wasn't any, she decided.

Everything was different.

"Flaky, answer me." Lammy now looked innocently perplexed.

"I'd rather ask some questions of my own." Flaky picked up a cotton shirt and held it up. "Every piece of clothing in this room has the labels on it. It's all new. There's nothing that belonged to me."

Lammy's glanced darted back and forth before she answered. "Don't be silly. The clothes are all yours. What do you mean there's nothing that belongs to you?" Her brows knitted giving a confused expression. Flaky threw the shirt down on the bed.

"There's nothing that I've worn before." She jumped to her feet, getting a slash of pain in return for forgetting her injured ankle.

"Oh, goodness." Lammy hurried towards her.

Flaky held her hand up. "Stay away. I'll be alright in a minute."

When the pain had subsided to a degree where she could speak again, Flaky gestured at the room. "It isn't just the clothes. Everything in here looks new. There's nothing personal of mine."

The confusion cleared from Lammy's face and she smiled broadly. "But there's a perfect explanation. One day you decided you wanted everything changed, your clothes, your room, everything." Lammy shook her head and gave a chuckle.

"Well, when you decide you wan something done, you go ahead and do it. You took all your clothes and furniture to various charity shops. Whatever was left, you threw away."

Flaky's mouth dropped open. "Just like that? That's incredible. What did mum and dad do?"

Lammy laughed again, the sound issuing from her lips in a combination of mirth and hiccups.

"What could they do? You needed clothes and furniture. Besides, you saved up a lot of money from baby-sitting and doing odd jobs, so you paid for a lot yourself."

Flaky sat down on the bed, looking at the plain furniture and thinking about the drab clothes in the wardrobe. She was stunned that she had actually picked everything out. It seemed impossible.

She remembered the bracelet. "Look at this Lammy." She held up her wrist. "It's so different from the clothes. It's a whole different style. It seems so weird that I chose this and I chose those clothes."

Lammy looked at her blankly for a moment. Then a look of understanding crossed her face. "I know what you mean. You bought that bracelet from an old man at a crafts fair because you felt sorry for him. He practically begged you to buy it."

"Oh," Flaky said softly. The whole thing was so incredible. "I can't believe I spent money for a whole new wardrobe," she said. "Wasn't I saving for college or university, Lammy?"

Now Lammy looked serious. "Well, no. You didn't want to go to college or university, because you would have to leave home. You were planning on getting a job here in town."

"Oh," Flaky said in a small voice. "I certainly wasn't very ambitious, was I?"

"Well, why in the world would you want to do something that would mean you would have to leave home?"

Flaky looked up and saw that Lammy's expression had darkened as if a shadow from within had crossed her face. "We were such a close family. Especially you and me." Said Lammy. "Sisters should stick together."

Flaky ran a hand through her hair. She felt uncomfortable with this explanation. It just didn't add up somehow.

She turned to Lammy, whose face was frozen in a look of solid disapproval. "If we were such a close family, why aren't there any pictures of me in the house? There are loads of photos here, but I'm not in a single one."

Lammy's body stiffened. She walked to the window, and with her back to Flaky she said quietly, "You had a little feud with mum and dad about six months ago. You took all the pictures of yourself that were in the house and burned them."

"Burned them! Why?"

After a moment Lammy turned to Flaky. "It wasn't a big deal at all. It was just one of those teenage things." She gave a little shrug. "We were all very upset, mum dad and I. You'd never done anything like that before. We couldn't imagine what had gotten into you."

"There's nothing?"

"Nothing."

Flaky got to her feet carefully this time. She felt like running, running to see if she recognised anything as she ran past it.

But, of course, she couldn't run. It hurt just to walk.

"I'd just like to be alone for a while please, Lammy. I want to think some things over."

"Well... all right," Lammy said slowly. She walked over to the bed and began folding the clothes. "Gosh darn it! You've made a big mess. I'll put these away for you first."

"Lammy, I'll do it! Just leave me alone!" Flaky was surprised at her outburst. But she was more surprised at the fury in Lammy's voice when she answered.

"You never appreciated anything I did for you!" Lammy said, her face twisted in a grimace of rage. Her hands clenching themselves at her sides. For a moment, Flaky thought she might walk over and strike her. The Lammy stormed from the room, slamming the door behind her.

When she was gone, Flaky limped to the single chair in the room and sat down. She felt weak, as if the encounter with Lammy had drained away her energy. I've got to get better and stronger, she thought, resting her head in her hands.

There's something going on here that Lammy isn't telling me. Suddenly getting rid of all one's clothing and furniture isn't the act of a sensible person. It doesn't fit with the mild mannered me that Lammy described.

Nor did burning of photographs sound like something that was 'no big deal,' especially if everything about family life was as hunky-dory as Lammy said.

Hunky-dory, Flaky repeated to herself. That sounded like something Lammy would say. She had a lot of those funny little words that sounded well, odd. Like 'oopsie daisy' and 'gosh darn it' and 'fiddle-faddle'.

The skin on the back of her neck prickled. Everything about Lammy was just a little out there, they way she didn't laugh until Flaky did and then joined in with that hiccuping sound, they way her expressions changed from moment to moment. Being around Lammy was like watching a dancer who couldn't keep with the beat.

Flaky raised her head and looked around at the sparsely furnished room. Lammy wasn't the only part of the picture that felt off beat. There was something wrong about all of this.

A feeling of vague foreboding formed itself into a pool of nausea in Flaky's stomach. Her return home wasn't a happy event after all. She didn't want to listen to that little voice that was whispering inside her head, but she couldn't get away from it.

_You're in a lot of trouble._


	9. Chapter 9

**AN-Wow, I really have nothing better to do than to write this...**

**StariChanx- Don't worry, Flaky will make a friend soon!**

* * *

Chapter 9

Less than an hour had passed since Lammy had stormed out of Flaky's room when she breezed back in again without knocking. Flaky was about to tell her to not do that again, but the words vanished as soon as she saw Lammy's face.

Gone were are all traces of the twisted rage. Her face was lit up with smiles.

She was holding something behind her back. "I have a surprise for you," she said. Her eyes twinkled. "Do you want to know what it is?"

"Sure," Flaky hoped she didn't look as astonished as she felt. The quick transformation in Lammy's disposition was so eerily fascinating she had to stop herself from gaping.

Keeping whatever it was hidden behind her, Lammy stepped closer. The smile slipped from her face and she looked solemn.

"Before I show you the surprise, I have to say something." Lammy drew herself up all still and straight. "You know, Flaky. It's not right for sisters to fight. We never fought before."

Flaky have herself a little shake. "You can't be serious Lammy. You're trying to tell me that we never had a single fight growing up? It's impossible."

"Why don't you believe me? It's true," Lammy said in a faltering voice. Now her lip quivered slightly. Is she really going to cry? Flaky wondered.

Before she could say anything, Lammy was beaming again. She held out her 'surprise'.

"Look what I found Flaky! I went searching for it as soon as I left your room. When I got my hands on it, I was so excited I couldn't wait to show you!"

Lammy held out a large brown book with a cracked leather cover. "It's an old photograph album from when we were kids. I remembered it was up in the attic, but I wasn't sure if you'd gone and burned the pictures in there with the rest of them. Golly day! It's lucky you forgot!" She pressed the album into Flaky's hands. "Go on take it. Maybe you'll remember how we got along. Maybe then you'll believe we never fought."

Wordlessly, Flaky took the album over to he desk and sat down. Her hands trembled as she opened it.

There, on the first page, was a photograph of her and Lammy sitting in a sandpitt, looking at each other laughing. They looked around the ages four and seven.

In another photograph, Lammy was pushing Flaky on a swing. And in another, they were eating ice-cream.

Flaky was caught up in a wave of emotion. Here was a life that she couldn't remember.

She looked up from the album, and saw that Lammy had already folded many of the clothes on the bed and was picking up the remaining ones quickly, one after another, all the time shaking her head and mumbling "What a mess!"

Flaky felt a twinge of irritation, but it passed quickly. She was too happy about seeing the pictures to let anything bother her. Now her fears about Lammy seemed incredibly silly. Lammy was a little quirky that's all. She'd certainly done her best to look after her.

Flaky turned to the next page in the album. There were Flaky and Lammy feeding ducks. She turned page after page, all full of pictures of the two of them, smiling and laughing.

But she remembered nothing.

When she looked at the last page of photographs, Flaky closed the album and put it down on the desk. Lammy had finished putting everything away and was just standing there.

"Well, Flaky? Any memories?"

Flaky shook her head. "Nope. But I still liked looking at the photos. And you're right, it looks like we got on awfully well."

A smile lit up Lammy's face.

"I'll look at the pictures some more, and sooner or later the memories will come. Thanks for putting the clothes away, but you really don't have to do everything for me."

Lammy gave a dismissive gesture with her hand. "Nonsense. I'm happy to help you. That's what sisters are for. And now I'm going yo go downstairs and make you a nice cup of hot chocolate."

"Thanks Lammy, but I don't want any right now."

Lammy's smile disappeared in an instant, but then reappeared. "You just don't remember how much you enjoyed it when we had hot chocolate together. It will only be a minute."

Flaky watched her go. I hope that when the novelty wears off Lammy will stop hovering over me.

Her hand brushed the cracked leather cover of the album. She opened it again and began flicking through the pages.

How strange to know that I'm looking at pictures of Lammy and me, and not remembering about the times when the photos were taken, she thought.

But then something made her pause and stare at the picture of her standing with Lammy in front of a Ferris wheel. Like far off music, a memory stirred, distant at first, then sweeping over her with a rush of sound, sights, and the smells of popcorn, hot dogs and candyfloss.

Flaky's heart pounded. "I was there," she whispered, looking at the picture. The lights and whirl of activity painted themselves in broad strokes across her mind, bolder and bolder.

She remembered that she and Lammy had gone on ride after ride. Then they had both eaten huge clouds of pink candyfloss.

Flaky hugged the worn photo album. I should be overjoyed about remembering anything at all, but I'm not.

Why?

She answered herself.

The fear hadn't gone away.

She'd seen pictures form her past, and even remembered something, but she was still filled with anxiety. If anything it had gotten worse, because now she didn't have a cause for it.

Before she thought her fear had something to do with Lammy. Now that seemed silly. She wasn't afraid of Lammy anymore.

She was just afraid.

From some dark chamber inside her mind, she recalled Dr. Sniffles' words.

Sometimes amnesia means there's something you're too afraid to remember.


	10. Chapter 10

**AN- Well my mum has decided that a family outing would be a good way to spend half term... So I had to write this chapter out before we set off, so I apologise in advance for any mistakes.**

**StariChanx- Well, I can't certainly tell you that the pictures aren't fake!**

**HTFan- Your reviews never fail to make me smile! If other people took the time it takes for you to write that much, this website would be even better. To say thanks, I will keep the actual truth as hidden as possible! Though I do promise that there are hidden clues throughout.**

* * *

Chapter 10

Flaky dreamed she was running, running down the dark tunnel again, while the accusing dark stranger with the blazing eyes pursued her. But this time she made it out the tunnel.

It ended abruptly. Suddenly her grey frame house loomed over her. Without understanding how she got there, she found herself on the porch. Then the door opened.

"Welcome."

Nurse Tra-la-la stood before her. She looked different from before. Her eyes were smudged, her cheeks too bright and her mouth a crimson slash across her face. "I'm so glad you're home Flaky dear. I have a surprise for you."

She held a jacket out toward Flaky. "Go on dear. Put it on. It was made for you."

Flaky looked at the jacket. There was something strange about it. Then she understood what was wrong. It was a straight-jacket. And then (but it was impossible!) she saw that Nurse Tra-la-la was wearing a straight-jacket too.

Flaky started to scream, or at least tried.

When she opened her mouth, no sound came out.

She was jerked from the dream and suddenly sat up in bed awake in the darkened room. Her heart was pounding, and her mouth was still open in the silent scream.

After a moment she was calm enough to glance at the glowing flurescent numbers on th clock glowing at her bedside. Three-thirty A.M. The same time she'd awakened for the past, oh, how many nights? She slumped back against the pillows.

One day had blended into the next. She'd been home nearly a week now, and after the flash of recogition she'd had looking at the carnival, she'd had no more memories. And the fear had persisted. Sometimes she was nearly able to forget it, but always it hovered at the edges of her mind. Sooner or later it returned with full force.

She'd spoken to Lammy about the bad dreams and the fear. Lammy had pooh-poohed her worries. In fact, that's exactly what she had said. "Oh, pooh-pooh, there's nothing for you to be afraid of. You feel scared because you can't remember who you are. As soon as you remember what a happy life you had here, and get back to it, the fear will go away. So will th bad dreams."

It sounded so sensible. But as hard as she tried to believe it, it didn't work. Fear was her constant companion by day, and followed her into her dreams.

Night after night began with variations of the same nightmare that started with her running from someone in a tunnel. The only dreams that didn't terrify her were the ones she had about playing football in some sort of tournament.

She'd asked Lammy about her dreams. Lammy had told her that there had been no such tournament in real life.

Flaky chuckled to herself in the dark. Playing sports didn't mesh with the Flaky she'd been told about. That girl would rather be doing a crossword puzzle.

But the things she did in her dream seemed exciting and fun, and so real. After a while, Flaky drifted back into a restless sleep, yearning for that game.

She awakened to the sound of Lammy's voice. Lammy wasn't in the same room with her, she was somewhere else in the house. And she wasn't talking to anyone who was here, that much was certain, because the only voice Flaky heard was Lammy's. She was talking on the telephone.

Funny, Flaky realised she hadn't heard the phone ring since she'd been here. I guess I was just too out of it to notice, she thought. She strained her ears to hear what Lammy was saying.

"Tired...No, I don't think so...too soon...Flaky can't...She's visiting...relatives."

The last statement went through Flaky like a shock. Why would Lammy tell someone she was visiting relatives? Maybe it was one of her friends!

She struggled to sit up. But before she could even get her feet on the floor,s he heard Lammy saying, "I'm sorry. I really can't talk any longer. I'm late for work."

There was a sound of the phone being put down, the sound of Lammy's quick steps, the sounds of the door opening and then shutting with a soft click.

Flaky dropped back against the pillows. She turned her head to look at the time, ten o'clock. No wonder Lammy didn't wake me up, she thought. She must be very late.

Lammy woke her up before seven every morning and made her a big breakfast. No matter how many times Lammy told her she loved to eat a big breakfast, she always dreaded the meal. I guess my appetite has lost its memory too, she'd said to Lammy one morning. Lammy hadn't laughed.

Flaky turned over in bed and noticed that the movement caused no twinge of pain in her ankle. It was getting better. She decided she was ready to do some more walking.

She'd been staying off it as much as possible since the first day she'd been home. When Lammy saw how swollen her ankle had become, she'd said she was sorry for insisting that Flaky walk upstairs to her room. she'd brought up all her meals and waited on her hand and foot.

At first Flaky had been so exhausted and in so much pain she was actually grateful. But as she started to feel better, Lammy's hovering became more and more annoying. Yesterday she'd gotten so restless she'd wanted to go downstairs, but Lammy talked her out of it.

Well, she won't talk me out of it today, flaky said to herself. But first she decided to take advantage of Lammy's absence and sleep late. She rolled over and was sound asleep in a second.

When Flaky woke up again, it was nearly three in the afternoon. She yawned and stretched happily.

Her ankle hardly hurt at all. When she examined it she could see that the swelling was almost gone.

Moments later, Flaky stood in front of the bathroom mirror. You're looking better now too, she told herself as she smiled at her reflection. Her eyes had lost the dark circles, and the exhausted drawn look was gone form her face.

As Flaky brushed her teeth, she pondered the phone conversation. Who was it? She wondered. And why did Lammy tell them I've gone to visit relatives?

Flaky washed her face and finished with several splashes of cold water. She knew the reason Lammy would give her. Lammy always did what she thought best for her sister. That's what she always said.

Back in her room, Flaky faced the discouraging task of finding something to wear. She shifted the hangers this way and that, her frown growing bigger by the minute as she looked at each item.

Finally she chose a grey t-shirt and some black trousers. There isn't even a pair of jeans in here, Flaky thought, I need to get some more practical clothes.

Lammy will just tell me a shopping trip is too stressful for me, she thought with impatience. Then she had an idea. Lammy was always saying 'sisters have to stick together'. I'll tell her we'll make it a 'sisters' event. Sisters shopping together. A smile spread over her face. Once Lammy saw she could handle shopping, maybe she'd stop mothering me so much. I certainly hope so, Flaky said to herself. Now where was that phone?

An hour later she was no closer to finding it. It doesn't make sense, she said to herself. If i didn't know better, I'd think we didn't have one.

Finally on her third examination of the living room, she found it. It was tucked under a stool in a corner with the wire wrapped around it.

I guess Lammy didn't want the ringing phone to bother me, flaky thought.

In moments she located the jack and plugged the phone in. It was nice to hear a dial tone again. She hadn't heard one in a long time.

Flaky held the receiver in her hand.

Now what?

She hadn't thought this far.

Who am I going to call?

She didn't know a single number...or name.

Refusing to let her enthusiasm be dampened, Flaky decided to order pizza. She'd been trying to talk Lammy into getting one for days, with no success.

Now, how to find the pizzeria? They passed one on the way here...what was the name? Pop's! Pop's Pizza Palace.

"Yes!" Flaky cried out to the empty house.

She had just started to dial when she heard Lammy's key in the door. Before she had a chance to speak, Lammy looked at her holding the telephone and her eyes widened.

"Flaky, what in the world are you doing?" Lammy took three giant steps and grabbed the phone from her hand.

Stunned, Flaky could only say, "I...I was just going to make a call."

In a single swift motion, Lammy pulled the telephone wire from he jack. Looking at Flaky, she said, in a tone one would use to discipline a small child, "Sorry. No phone calls."


	11. Chapter 11

**Well, I'm back again with another chapter, sorry if not much happens, I just need to get my ideas together.**

**HTFan- Thanks so much, I do worry that I'm not being scary enough. So you are really helping build my confidence! I will keep making this as mysterious as I can.**

**StariChanx- Thanks so much, I appreciate the amount of reviews you have sent! Don't worry, eventually some friends will show their faces. And I will admit that I'm better at the creepy stuff than the gory stuff, so I hope that you will get the horror you desire soon.**

* * *

Chapter 11

Paralysed with shock, Flaky could only watch as Lammy took the telephone from her hand and replaced it. Then she wrapped the chord around the phone several times.

"I'm going to put this away, do you understand?" Lammy's face was flushed and her eyes flickered with intensity.

Flaky nodded numbly.

"Now you wait right here."

Lammy disappeared upstairs while Flaky, too stunned to move, did as she was told. She heard Lammy moving about upstairs. She must be putting the phone in her own room, Flaky thought.

Suddenly, her shock subsided and was replaced by a burst of anger. Who does Lammy think she is to speak to me like that? Flaky set her mouth into a think line.

Here I stand doing what she told me to do, like a bad child. We'', I've had enough.

She went out into the kitchen. She was going to have a snack before dinner. Not because she was hungry, but because she knew Lammy wouldn't like it.

By the time she heard Lammy's footsteps on the stairs, Flaky was seated at the kitchen table munching on chocolate chip cookies.

"Flaky? Where are you?"

She felt a twinge of satisfaction when she heard the worry in Lammy's voice. It was worry that gave a high pitched squeak at the end.

"Flaky? Flaky?" The squeak became more pronounced. Flaky could hear Lammy's footsteps getting closer and sat quietly.

"Flaky! Fla...Oh!" Lammy stood still suddenly as she saw Flaky sitting calmly at the kitchen table. "There you are. I told you to stay where you were. Why didn't you answer me?" She faced Flaky with a stone-like stare.

Flaky stared back at her in silence.

Lammy's eyes wavered. The stony stare began to slip. Gradually, it was replaced by a look of uncertainty.

"I'm sorry I got so upset." Lammy slowly crossed over to the kitchen table. After a moment's hesitancy, she sat down. She glanced at the cookies briefly, but she must have thought it wise not to comment.

"Don't you ever order me around again. Why don't you let me talk on the phone?" Flaky demanded. "I heard you this morning, telling someone I'd gone away. Why did you do that?"

"Flaky, please don't be angry. I was just so worried about you," Lammy said, staring into Flaky's eyes.

"That's why you don't want me to talk to anyone? It doesn't make sense," Flaky snapped.

"Well the doctors told me that if you were going to remember anything, you should be quiet, not too much stress, not too much at once. They said we should just do things together at home the way we used to. They said it was too soon to talk to other people. We should wait until you are more yourself again." Lammy's voice took on an indignant edge. "I feel responsible for you. I;m sorry that you don't understand that what I am doing is for your own good."

Flaky sighed. "I know you're trying to do what's best for me, Lammy. Shouldn't I at least start to talk about what might have caused my amnesia? The doctor thought it might be not be physical, that something happened that I don't want to remember."

"Phooey! That's ridiculous!" Lammy said emphatically. "Maybe he thought that at one time, but now they know that's not true. It's all because of the accident." She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and spoke more quietly. "The doctor says it's too soon to start therapy, and you should stay at home for a while. Maybe then you'll remember everything and you won't need the therapy at all." Lammy looked at Flaky as is she was trying to reason with a small child.

Flaky felt a rippling of uneasiness mingled with frustration. "It doesn't make sense to stay at home and not to talk to anyone!"

Lammy faced her with an icey stare. "Stay home and not talk to anyone," she echoed. "Who am I...nobody?"

"That's not what I meant!" Flaky said, feeling more and more flustered. She looked down at the tabletop and took a long deep breath. Then she looked back at Lammy. "I can't help feeling that you're keeping something from me. It's true isn't it?"

Lammy rolled her eyes. "For heaven's sake, Flaky, listen to yourself. You're the one who isn't talking sense. I've told you what the doctors said you should do, that's all."

Flaky stood up suddenly "I don't care. I want to talk to my friends."

Lammy looked towards the window. "Well I can't help you. I don't know the names of any of your friends. You never mentioned any. Besides, they aren't very good friends are they? None of them has come to visit you since you've been home. I if I were you I'd say good riddance to bad company."

"Well they won't know I'm here if you lie to them on the phone the way you did this morning," Flaky retorted.

Lammy's eyes opened wide. "The person I was talking to was no friend of yours, it was..." She let her voice trail off. "It wasn't anyone important, Flaky. Please trust me."

Her voice took on a hurt tone. "We were always so close, but now it doesn't seem that you feel that way. I'm only trying to do my best. I miss the way we used to be." She slumped into her chair.

Flaky could feel the guilt crowding in once more.

"There must be a way to find out the names of my friends. I think it would help me to talk to them, no matter what the doctor says." She tried to put more certainty into her voice. "After all, even a doctor can make a mistake."

Then she had an idea. "I know! I'll call the school. I can find out the names of my teachers. They'll know who I was friendly with."

Lammy looked at her with an expression of long suffering patience. She sighed,a sound that said, here we go again, more clearly then any words could.

"Why would you want to talk to people you don't remember?"

"But..."

"It would only upset you. Besides, do you want people to look at you as an oddity? To ask how it feels to forget who you are? Maybe even think you're...crazy?"

Flaky felt herself floundering in the face of Lammy's logic. Then Lammy gave her such a slyly knowing smile they both knew that once again, Flaky had lost and Lammy had won.

"Let's not fight," Lammy said, laying a hand on Flaky's shoulder. "Sisters have to stick together."


	12. Chapter 12

**AN- Well hello again! As I felt a little bad for not having much progress in terms of events in the last chapter, I typed faster than I have ever typed before to bring you this chapter.**

**HTFan- Well just wait to see how Lammy acts in this chapter! Oh, and don't worry Flaky will eventually talk to someone.**

**StariChanx- I was a little worried that I had given Flaky more confidence s little too early, but I thought if I was in that situation, I would probably want answers too. I'm glad that you agree!**

**blacktails25- Trust me, you haven't seen anything yet!**

* * *

Chapter 12

Three days had passed since the telephone incident.

The phone never reappeared.

Lammy kept it hidden in her room. At least, Flaky was pretty sure that's were it was, especially since she'd tried the door several times and found it locked.

She hadn't heard Lammy talking on the phone again.

She never heard it ringing either.

Everyday she hoped for new memories, but none came. Now Dr. Sniffles words, 'sometimes amnesia means there's something you're afraid to remember', kept appearing and reappearing in her mind.

Again she asked Lammy if she was keeping anything from her. Lammy had insisted she wasn't. "It's just the amnesia that makes you more fearful," she told her once more. "The doctors say it's a common side effect."

Lammy had sounded so certain that Flaky had almost been able to make herself believe it. For a few moments the fear had gone away.

But the doubt came back.

And so did the fear.

Meanwhile, Lammy continued to do everything possible for her. She woke Flaky at seven each morning and made a big breakfast before going to work. Now, however, Flaky was able to go downstairs and sit at the kitchen table.

Breakfast was a particular trying time for Flaky. If she started to butter a piece of toast, Lammy took it from her and buttered it. If she wanted sugar in her tea, Lammy would take her tea from her and add it herself. Flaky felt smothered by her attentions. Lammy just didn't understand that. "I'm here to take care of you. That's what sisters are for," she would say.

One morning, Flaky had protested she was strong enough to get her own breakfast.

"Isn't what I'm doing good enough for you?" Lammy had blurted out. After that, Flaky had kept silent.

Now that she was spending more time downstairs, she was surprised to find that there was no TV in the house. There wasn't even a radio.

"Our parents had something against that sort of thing," Lammy had told her. "They thought it was better to read."

But Flaky noticed Lammy didn't do much reading. In fact, when she thought about it, she couldn't recall having ever seen her do any reading. She never brought a newspaper or magazine into the house.

"I'm too busy taking care of you to buy magazines and newspapers," Lammy said. "Besides, instead of thinking about watching television, and listening to the radio, and reading, it's better for you to concentrate on doing things you used to do and getting your memory back."

So Flaky tried to do just that. Every day when Lammy set out for work she tried to rest and do the word games and crossword puzzles that Lammy told her she liked.

When Lammy came home from work she made dinner, and then she and Flaky would play some sort of game Lammy picked out, or a jigsaw puzzle.

Flaky hoped the memory of enjoying the puzzles and games would return, but it didn't. In fact she couldn't even imagine ever enjoying them. She didn't now and wasn't very good at them either.

The three days that passed were so chock-full of boredom, they dragged by as if they were never ending. Flaky was growing restless, bored and edgy.

That evening after dinner, she watched Lammy reaching for a jigsaw puzzle on the bookshelf in the living room, and she felt her stomach tightening in knots. Oh, no, not again, she said silently. I can't face one more evening of puzzles and games.

"Can't we do something else?" She blurted out. The words just came out of her mouth as if on their own. She hardly realised she had said anything until she heard the words. But she knew she'd made a mistake.

Lammy's body stiffened suddenly. Slowly, she took the puzzle from the shelf and put it on the coffee table.

"I thought you enjoyed doing puzzles together," she said in a low voice. She stared at Flaky intently.

"Oh, I do, I do," Flaky said hurriedly. "Doing something else was just an idea. We can do the puzzle if you had your heart set on it."

But it was too late to make amends. Flaky saw Lammy was grinding her teeth, and she didn't like the look in her eyes.

"Just what is wrong with doing a jigsaw puzzle?" Lammy reached up and gave her hair a tug.

Flaky spoke haltingly. "Well nothing is wrong with it, Lammy. Come on, forget what I said. We'll put it together."

"No, no. You don't like it. I can see that now," Lammy said. She gave her hair another tug and walked towards Flaky.

"You used to enjoy putting puzzles together and playing games with your sister. But since you've come home this time, you don't." She kept walking towards Flaky, until she stood right in front of her. "No matter how hard I try and try, you don't appreciate anything."

For a moment, Lammy's eyes were glowing with rage. The she gave a casual shrug and walked back to the coffee table. "So what, it's no skin off my nose," she said. She picked up the puzzle and removed the cover. Then without warning, she threw the puzzle against the wall. Pieces scattering everywhere, bouncing off furniture, landing all over the floor, tables and couch.

Lammy's fists were clenched at her sides. "If what I want to do isn't good enough for you, maybe your sister isn't good enough for you either!"

Flaky could only stand there, too astounded to move, or to say a word, as Lammy picked up a figurine from the table. It looked as if she was going to throw it too. She drew her hand back and was about to let it fly, then at the last second, she caught herself.

Flaky could tell Lammy was restraining herself with considerable effort. After holding the figurine motionless for several moments, she replaced it on the table. Then she stormed up the stairs. There was the sound of her bedroom door slamming.

Flaky felt weak, as if her knees would buckle under her. She sank down onto the couch.

The whole incident was kind of a blur in her mind. Lammy's rage had erupted out of no where. And all over a jigsaw puzzle!

After a few minutes Flaky got up and started picking up puzzle pieces. What happened had seemed so strange.

What in the world is the matter with Lammy?

Then she realised that Lammy had been growing more moody lately. Sometimes she just sat and stared, and she'd had some fits of temper.

Nothing, however like tonight.

"Flaky!"

Startled, Flaky gasped. She hadn't heard Lammy come downstairs, and yet she was standing right beside her. Her fists were clenched at her sides.

"Don't you dare touch those puzzle pieces. You leave them right where they are!" Lammy grabbed the box with a few pieces that had been collected and pulled it from Flaky's hands. She flung the pieces back onto the floor.

"Leave them right where they are!" she said once more, and then marched upstairs again. The bedroom door slammed a second time, and there was an angry creak of springs as she flung herself on the bed.

Flaky stood int he empty living room with puzzle pieces strewn about and found herself trembling. She hoped Lammy wouldn't come downstairs again and appear beside her out of no where.

Because tonight Lammy had really acted...crazy.


	13. Chapter 13

**AN-Well things have just taken a turn for the worse, however Flaky is finally going out of the house!**

**HTFan- Thank you! Prepare for much more insanity and mystery**

**ashdash2417- Well Flaky is leaving the house in this chapter, without permission of course, so maybe she will find some answers.**

**Blacktails25- I think so too!**

* * *

Chapter 13

The following morning, Flaky didn't wake Lammy. Instead she left bacon and eggs on a covered dish with a note on the kitchen table. The note said she was sorry about what happened last night, and also that she had to rush for a big meeting.

All of the puzzle pieces had been picked up, but Lammy had left the dishes from last night's tea, plus some more from that morning in the sink. It wasn't like her at all.

Only then, Flaky realised that since the telephone incident, Lammy hadn't been such a stickler for neatness. Her cleaning routine had slacked off too. Flaky used to hear her bustling round as she lay in bed, cleaning for most of the night...but she hadn't been doing that lately.

As Flaky sat down for breakfast, she thought about how Lammy had been taking care of her, as well as having an important job. Perhaps Lammy was overworked and tired, and that was the reason for her outburst the night before. She had too much to do and needed some help.

Yet whenever Flaky offered to help, Lammy refused. Flaky decided that she would have to show Lammy that she could share the responsibility, instead of asking her. And that's what led to the decision to go into town to stock up on some groceries, as they were running low.

Growing more and more excited at the fact that going into town may even bring back some memories, Flaky put down her napkin and got up from the table. But how would she be able to buy things?

Automatically, her eyes flickered towards the cupboard where she knew Lammy kept the money in a glass jar behind the cups. Taking it wouldn't be stealing, she reasoned. As she would be using it to buy things they both needed.

She crossed to the cupboard, pushed aside the cups and reached for the jar. After a brief moments hesitation, she twisted the lid off, took out a ten pound note, and slipped it into the pocket of her trousers. She started to put the jar back, but hesitated.

There must be at least three hundred pounds in this jar, she thought. Enough to buy more than a few groceries. Feeling a twinge of guilt, she took several notes and slipped them into her pocket. It's our money after all, she argued silently. The groceries are for both of us, and if I get anything for myself, I'll pay back the money.

By the time Lammy gets home, I'll be back. I'll do something for her...I'll make dinner! She'll be so relieved that she doesn't have to do anything anymore, that she wont mind.

Flaky couldn't quite believe any of that, but she refused to be worried about it. The idea of gaining memories was far too tempting. The only problem was hoe to get there. humming happily, she closed the front door and headed down the street.

As it turned out, getting into the town wasn't very difficult at all. Flaky spotted the sign for Pop's Pizza Palace right away. It wasn't much further down the road.

Soon she was pushing open the door and inhaling the fragrant aroma of the food. It smelt wonderful. Now to find out if Lammy was right about me not liking pizza.

"A slice please," she asked the gentle looking man behind the counter. "And a coke."

As Flaky waited for her order, she looked around. Pop's had the cosy look of a place that had been around for a while. As Flaky looked at the place she thought she felt a spark of recognition. Expectantly, she waited for the memory to grow stronger. She looked from left to right, her eyes moving all around the room.

But instead of a memory that grew to a rush of crystal clarity, the spark simply vanished.

False alarm.

"Here you go," the man behind the counter said, sliding over her pizza and drink on a tray.

"Thanks." Flaky paid him and picked up the tray. she started to walk away, then she stopped and turned around. "Umm, Do you remember me?" she asked.

The man was counting money into the register. He looked up, his features changed from a look of surprise to confusion. "Sorry, dear. I've never seen you before."

At least I tried, Flaky thought. She carried her food to a table in a corner near the window.

Here goes, she thought biting into the slice. The crust was thin and crisp, and there was plenty of melted cheese. He knows how to cook, she thought to herself, while looking at that man behind the counter. This is great. She took bite after bite. I love pizza. How could Lammy be so mistaken to think I didn't?

Flaky fiddled with her straw. Maybe Lammy didn't know me as well as she thought. She thought I didn't like pizza, and I loved puzzles. Maybe she was mistaken about lots of things.

The bell over the door jingled, and a man entered. He was wearing, strangely enough, a mask over his eyes.

The man ordered a lemonade and carried it back to the table in the back of the restaurant. All the while, his gaze roamed all over the place. It was constantly shifting and often rested on her.

He looks like someone who likes to be the center of attention, Flaky thought. So why was he on his own?

She got up and threw away her rubbish in the bin. She got directions to the town center from the man behind the counter and left. The whole time she spoke to him, she thought that the man with the mask was staring at her, even though her back was to him. She was glad to be on her way.

Flaky walked along, noting that her ankle wasn't bothering her at all. She moved at a brisk pace and could see the buildings of the town.

Flaky sped up her pace. Every so often, she kept looking over her shoulder. It wasn't anything she heard or saw, but something she felt. Each time she looked, no one was there.

Until the last time she turned.

She had just reached the town center when she turned to look over her shoulder once more. Then she saw the man in the mask.

He was shuffling along, as if he was just taking a stroll.

But Flaky wasn't fooled.

She knew he was following her.


	14. Chapter 14

**AN-Sorry if this chapter is shorter than the other, I have just had my end of year 10 exams. I promise that I will try to upload another chapter this week-end.**

**HTFan- Are you sure that there aren't any characters who wear masks? **

**BlackTails25- Well, you just have to finish the story to see if you are right!**

**Starichanx- Well Flaky does see Lammy in this chapter...**

* * *

Chapter 14

Her pulse was quickening with fear, Flaky looked for a way to lose the masked stranger. She wanted to run, but didn't dare, for fear that he would start running too.

Ahead she saw the sign for the pharmacy. At least inside, there would be some people, and maybe she could loose him in all the activity.

The pharmacy turned out to be a dream come true. Shoppers galore bustled though the aisles of merchandise.

Flaky hurried to the back of the store, trying her best to be inconspicuous.

Why was he following her?

Did he know her?

She couldn't explain it, but she had a strong feeling that he did, and that the relationship between them hadn't been a pleasant one.

Was he somehow connected to whatever it was that was too scary to remember?

After several minutes of hiding behind a shampoo display, Flaky grew a little bolder. She ventured out of her hiding place and began strolling through the aisles, her eyes darting here and there, searching for the man. But the man with the mask seemed to have vanished.

Flaky looked around at the people hurrying through the brightly lit aisles and felt foolish. Her tears suddenly felt outlandish. He probably wasn't even following you, silly, she told herself. Maybe Lammy's right, the amnesia is making me fearful. All my dark fears about the past and the thought that Lammy is keeping something from me are probably just in my imagination too.

Soon all thoughts of the masked man were put out of her head.

Her enthusiasm was dimmed by the fact that nothing whatsoever about the town looked familiar. It was small and well kept, so neat it almost looked like a fairy-tail town.

Trees lined the streets, and many of the buildings had a gingerbread house look. Quaint was definitely the word to describe it.

In the center of the town was a small park. Workers were setting up a fair there. Funny, she thought. It's not really the season for a fair.

Still, Flaky hoped that she could talk Lammy into going. It wasn't good, the way Lammy never saw friends on her own or went out at night. All she ever did was come right home from that big executive job of hers, and spend time with her sister.

Just as Flaky was thinking about Lammy's job, she walked past the Happy Tree Town Library. There was Lammy. She was pushing a cart piled high with books.

Staring with wide eyed fascination, Flaky watched as Lammy disappeared down aisle after aisle with a few less books on the cart. She did this until all the books were gone. Then she returned tot he desk and loaded the cart with more books and started down the aisles again.

Flaky walked away from the library slowly, full of jumbled emotions and confused thoughts.

Why did Lammy lie to me?

It made her angry, the way Lammy was always on about sisters sticking together and then lying.

Big executive job. Ha! She's shelving books at the library. Wait until I tell her that I am on to her.

After walking a bit more, though, Flaky decided that maybe she wouldn't tell Lammy she knew that she had lied about her job. Lammy had done her best to take care of her, and she'd probably told her that she had an important job to impress her. If I tell Lammy that I saw her shelving books, she'll be embarrassed. That wouldn't be very nice. Besides, she thought, there was nothing about telling a little fib to impress your sister.

The clock outside the bank said two o'clock. There was still time to do some more shopping, buy groceries, and get home before Lammy.

As she walked past a pet store, the sight of puppies in the window caught Flaky's attention. she couldn't resist going in for a closer look.

Inside the puppies were in a large pen. They tumbled over each other as they played with dog toys.

"Cute aren't they?" Said an eager faced clerk. "A terrific buy."

"They're adorable,"Flaky agreed. "But not today."

"If they are too expensive, I can easily half the price. To be honest all take anything for these puppies."

"Oh, it's not the price," Flaky told him. Lammy would have a fit if she brought a puppy home.

The clerk's grin became more forced. "Just looking?"

Flaky was about tot answer yes, when the sight of a cage of canaries stopped her. Without thinking, she found herself saying, "No, i'm not just looking. I want one of those. that one." She pointed to a golden yellow bird with wings that were almost orange.

As she selected a cage and watched boxes of bird supplies pile up on the counter, Flaky silenced the whispered warning in her head that Lammy wasn't going to like this.

Who wouldn't like a canary?

They were no trouble at all, and their singing was lovely.

Besides, there was something familiar about canaries. I've had one before, Flaky thought. She was sure of it.

She whistled as she picked up the small covered cage and carried it outside. And then she stopped dead in her tracks.

The masked man had reappeared.

As soon as he saw Flaky, he ran towards her.


	15. Chapter 15

**AN- Well the chapter is here just as promised! and Flaky is finally going to make a friend!**

**StariChanx-Well I hope this chapter reaches your standards of amazing! And i'm glad that I managed to capture that creepy vibe in the last chapter, a horror scene was exactly what I was going for.**

**HTFan- Well you will just have to wait and see if you are right! Oh, and just to let you know that whole canary thing quite literally just popped into my head at the time, I just thought that it was something that Flaky would do, so I'll leave that to your own interpretation.**

* * *

Chapter 15

Flaky ran. She had an unexplainable feeling that she knew the man with the mask on his face, and the reason she knew him wasn't a good one.

She turned a corner, then another one, and ducked into the first store she could. It was a video game store. Without pausing she went straight to the back and crouched down behind the counter. The canary began to sing.

"Hey what's going on?" Someone asked.

Flaky raised her eyes. She saw a blonde boy about her own age.

"Since you're not speaking. I'll have to ask the question again. What's going on?" the boy smiled at her.

"I'm hiding from a man who's been following me. He's wearing a mask."

The boy tilted his head to one side. "I can't believe it. I'm always seeing things like this in the movies. Now it's finally happening to me."

"It's true. I've seen him watching me. He was in the pizzeria, and then he followed me to the pet shop."

The boy chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Flaky made an attempt to sound dignified. As soon as the boy had laughed, she'd had a sudden mental picture of herself running through the store, canary cage swinging in her arm. I must look ridiculous, she thought, withing the floor would open and swallow her up.

"Never mind." The boy crouched down behind the counter beside her.

"Hello there. Nice of you to stop by and visit. My name's Cuddles."

"Flaky." The name came out in a whisper.

"Well Flaky, why don't you come back into the office and tell me more of this story. You can hide just as well in there, and you'll be much more comfortable sitting in a chair. Oh, and you can bring your canary." Cuddles stood up and motioned for Flaky to follow him.

Flaky got up cautiously and peered over the counter. The shop was empty. She followed Cuddles back to the tiny office.

"Wait just a minute. I'll go lock the door so you can relax," he said.

When he returned to the office, Flaky had seated herself in one of the folding chairs and placed the canary cage on the table.

"So, tell me about the mysterious man with the mask over his face."

Flaky tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and took a deep breath. "Like I told you. I first saw him at Pop's pizzeria. The I saw him walking behind me, but I lost him at the pharmacy. I started to think that maybe he wasn't even following me at all, until I left the pet shop and he was standing right outside. He even started walking over to me."

Cuddles looked thoughtful. "Well, he could be a weirdo alright. But it might have even been a coincidence that you saw him around all those times. Are you absolutely sure that he was running after you? Is there a chance you were being a bit jumpy?"

"You think I was being crazy, is that it?"

Cuddles shook his head. "No. I didn't mean that at all. It always pays to be careful, just in case. I'm just not convinced one hundred percent that that guy was definitely a threat."

Flaky thought for a moment, and then gave a little shrug. "Oh, well, I guess that's possible."

Flaky noted that Cuddles was studying her face.

"Do I have a smudge, or something caught between my teeth?"

"No, sorry if I was staring. You look familiar, that's all."

Flaky stared back t him. "Is that some sort of line? Please tell me if it is, because you don't know how much that means to me to meet someone who knows me."

"Really?" Cuddles looked at her quizzically. "Why is that?"

Flaky shook her head. "Forget that I said that. It's complicated."

"Well anyway, it's no line. I'm serious. At first i wasn't certain it was you. but now I am. I haven't seen you in a while but I remember you all right. I'll never forget how I saw you thrash us at that mini football match we had at that fair. I saw you at that very same fair they're setting up right now." He smiled. "It comes back every year. It's kind of funny, because it always comes around when it's too early for a fair, so it is a little cold. But people always go."

As Cuddles spoke, he slowly looked up at Flaky. "I looked for you at school, you know, to get on on the team. But I guess you went to a private school or something."

"You really do remember me!"

"Absolutely! I remember seeing you another time. My parents turned this place into a video game shop when they bought a few years ago." Cuddles leaned back in his chair.

"I've been working here ever since. I pretty much run the place," he said drawing himself up straighter.

"Very impressive," Flaky said, a smiling on her lips. Lammy wasn't the only one who liked being important.

"Anyway, it used to be an ice-cream parlor. I saw you one day sitting on a stool here, before I could ask you what school you went to, you had already left. I bet you don't even remember."

Flaky shrugged. She didn't want to tell him exactly how much she didn't remember.

"Hey, I'll show you. Come on out, it's safe. The door's locked remember?" He stood up.

"Okay." Flaky followed him from the office and out unto the shop.

"Look the counter is still here. My parents kept it. They always talk about getting the ice ream going again. But they never get around to it. You know, it could be a great combination. Video games and ice cream. Great idea, huh?"

"Sure." Flaky walked up close, running her hand along the counter. So years ago she had sat right there. He remembered her.

She tried to imagine herself sitting there, years ago. It might as well have happened to someone else she thought.

Then suddenly, the memory came to her. So clear, so vivid, as if it was projected in her mind. There she was, in her denim jeans and red t-shirt, feet covered by white trainers. She even remembered that she had had a bowl of strawberry ice cream.

And then she remembered him, off to one side with a friend.

"I remember you! You were standing next to someone with massive portions of ice cream. Smothered with every topping."

"Nutty. Yeah I didn't think you had noticed me."

"Oh, but I did."

Flaky was enjoying talking to Cuddles so much she almost forgot about the time, But then her eyes rested on the clock above the register.

"Oh, it's getting late. I've got to get home."

She ran back into the office and grabbed the canary cage.

"Thanks for, well, it was good to meet you. Thanks for remembering me." She ran towards the door.

"Hey wait a minute! I've got to unlock it remember?" He walked over and turned the key. "Look, why don't you just wait a while and I'll walk you home. It's only an hour until I get off work. I wouldn't want you to run into a weirdo."

"Oh I'll be careful. But I've got to go right now. Thanks for everything." she hurried to the door opened it and rushed out.

Flaky walked as fast as she could and was relieved that she had made it home before Lammy, with nearly an hour to spare. And her ankle hardly hurt at all.

She moved some figurines from an end table to a shelf int he kitchen to make room for the canary. She got the bird thoroughly set up, and there was still over half an hour before Lammy would get home.

There was a stack of puzzle books on the coffee table. Flaky sat down on the couch and opened one. Barely a minute passed before she tossed the book back on the table and sighed.

These things are so boring! She thought with exasperation. I've tried and tried to like them, but I just don't, no matter how much Lammy says I do. And no matter how many times she tells me that I don't like to go outside, it doesn't feel right.

She began pacing aimlessly around the room, opening cabinets and drawers. At first she only did it out of boredom and idle curiosity, but after a few moments the thought formed in her mind that she might discover something that would jog her memory, a letter, a postcard, something.

Flaky opened the drawers in the cabinets underneath the shelves where Lammy kept the games. They were full of papers. Most of them looked like old tax forms and records, but she didn't dare take the time to go through everything now. She'd have to look more carefully later.

then she remembered a briefcase she'd seen in the hall closet when she'd been looking for the telephone. She hurried to the closet and located the briefcase on the top shelf.

The briefcase wasn't securely locked. When Flaky grabbed the handle to pull it down, the case turned over. The contents spilled on the floor.

Flaky gasped.

She was staring at a pile of various broken jewelry, held together with rubber bands.


	16. Chapter 16

**AN- Hey just to let you know, this chapter may appear to be saying one thing, but perhaps I'm attempting to be clever (God help us all) and I actually mean something else...**

**Guest- Well Lammy has just caught Flaky, so now you will know what she does. And Flaky will be questioning Lammy's claims.**

**HTFan- Well I would keep the masked man stored away in your head, as it wouldn't be a good idea to forget him, as for Cuddles, well... I think that you may just be looking into to it too much. i can honestly say that friendship is all that Cuddles is after. And Flaky's football skills!**

**StariChanx- Hmm, I wonder if the story would change if she bought the puppy instead of the canary? Anyway, the jewelry is there for a reason, so keep that in your head, and as for the canary. Lammy may not be too impressed.**

**Guest- Don't worry, I plan on finishing this story!**

**Carmelita01- Thanks, I do try and keep the memory gaining as realistic as possible, so I'm glad that you like it! and I will strive to keep this story as awesome as possible!**

* * *

Chapter 16

"So now you know."

Startled, Flaky looked up to see Lammy standing in the doorway. She took off her coat and came closer.

"Where did all this stuff come from?" Flaky asked.

Lammy shrugged. "How should I know? Maybe you can tell me." Her eyes glittered.

Flaky looked at Lammy's face as if searching for a clue. "I don't understand. Maybe I just don't remember."

Lammy made a noise like a laugh, except that there was nothing happy about it, it sounded angry and nasty.

"What's going on?" Flaky asked. "Who did this?"

"Oh, my." Lammy made the laugh noise again. "You don't remember." Her voice was heavy with sarcasm. "You did this. That's the deep dark secret your sister's been keeping from you. Are you happy now?"

"I did this?" Flaky gasped. It isn't possible, she thought. the shock of Lammy's words had swept through her like a jolt of electricity.

Lammy had kept scooping items into the briefcase. "Phooey! I was hoping to spare you this. I wasn't sure if you would remember. I suppose I wasn't thinking clearly. I just wanted things to be different. I thought that maybe the amnesia was a kind of blessing. I thought if I told you that you were a nice quiet girl that maybe you'd start to be that way. Oh, I guess I knew it wouldn't work." She looked at Flaky with glaring angry eyes. "But it might have worked if you didn't start snooping."

"Well, you might as well tell me the truth now Lammy."

"Fine," Lammy snapped. "We'll just get all this fiddle-faddle out of the way." She finished putting the last of the things back into the briefcase and replaced it on the shelf. When she spoke, her words shot out angrily.

"Breaking valuables was a regular routine for you. It started when you were a child. Then you were good for a while, and Mum and Dad thought you'd straightened out. But as soon as you got to be a teenager, bang...you were at it worse than ever. Off you went." Lammy snapped her fingers int he air. "And that's not all," she continued. "You were always getting into trouble at school, throwing temper tantrums, making scenes, running with a bad crowd..."

Lammy glared into Flaky's eyes. "You even spent some time in a mental hospital."

"No..." Flaky took a step backward.

"Yes! And I know the gang of low-life troublemakers you called your friends would love to see you again. You double-crossed one of them and didn't give them their part of the cash. They're looking for you. Since you don't remember, I'll tell you that your friends hang around with some serious criminals, tough people."

Immediately, the image of the masked man flashed into Flaky's mind. He certainly looked tough enough to be a criminal.

"I told your friends they'd better not come around here," Lammy went on. She clenched and un-clenched her fists at her sides as she spoke. "I thought maybe if you's just stayed at home, they'd forget about you, and maybe you'd change..." Lammy crossed her arms. "I'm tired of covering for you and taking care of you. I'm tried of people saying that I'm the one with the crazy sister."

Flaky was horrified. Her mind was filled with disbelief, mingled with dread that what Lammy was saying was true. She struggled to find something to say to Lammy.

But Lammy's attention had turned from Flaky to something else.

"What's this?" she demanded, eyes blazing. Her finger was pointing towards the canary. "What's this?" she said again, louder this time.

In spite of the fury blazing in Lammy's eyes, Flaky had to stifle the urge to laugh. "A canary?" she ventured. It seemed obvious enough.

"I know it's a canary!" Lammy said, stamping her foot. "What I mean is, what's it doing here?"

"I bought it. I passed this pet store and I saw how cute the dogs and cats were. But I knew I shouldn't get one of those without talking to you first, but then I saw this bird and I didn't think anyone could mind a little bird. Look, it's so small. It will be nice to have a pet."

"You took, money to buy this? You're stealing?"

"Well I..." Flaky stammered. Then she lifted her chin. "I'll pay it back. What are you so angry about anyway? What happened to 'sisters sticking together'?"

Lammy glanced at the bird with a look of disgust. "This cage can't stay here," she said, grabbing it and depositing it roughly in an armchair.

Flaky watched as she strode briskly into the kitchen and came back with both arms filled with figurines, Lammy looked as if she was in a trance. When she was finished she stood back and studied them, then did some re-positioning. "There!" she finally said, smiling for the first time.

But when she turned to Flaky, the smile was gone. "What do you need a pet for? isn't everything nice enough here? Don't I get you everything you need?"

"Sometimes it gets lonely here. I just wanted some company."

Lammy faced her with a resentful sneer. "No matter how hard I try, nothing is ever good enough for you. You can't stay out of trouble! You made so much trouble for mum and dad, and now when I try to keep you from getting into more trouble, you wont cooperate." Flaky watched Lammy's fists opening and closing at her sides. Lammy took several deep breaths, and then turned to walk away.

Suddenly, she wheeled around and turned back to Flaky. "Did you talk to anyone while you were in town?" Her eyes blazed even more angrily than before.

In an instant, Flaky decided it was best not to tell the truth.

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'm sure."

Flaky could see Lammy relax. "Good you shouldn't. I'm only telling you for your own good.."

"But why?"

"Shut up! Just do what you're supposed to. Stay home, don't talk to anyone, don't make any trouble, and everything will be okay."

"Okay," Flaky said, although she didn't mean it. She just wanted Lammy to calm down. The way she was acting was scary.

Lammy stared at her with a brittle stare. "I suppose I didn't realise your ankle was so much better." She tilted her head to one side.

"Yes, it's much better. I'm feeling better overall, Lammy. Now I can help you out around the house, so you wont have to do everything yourself. Look, let me finish making dinner for you. Just sit and relax."

"I'll finish dinner. I know the way I like things done."

"Lammy, please I'd like to help out."

Flaky was surprised and relieved when Lammy agreed. She sat at the table and watched everything she did like a hawk, and made her so nervous she was sure she'd drop something. Somehow she didn't.

Finally the meal was ready. Beef, green beans, boiled potatoes. Flaky put the food on the table and smiled at Lammy. "I hope you like it."

Lammy smiled back, and then, without warning, she picked up her plate and threw it against the wall. Bits of beef stuck there. Jagged pieces of plate bounced to the floor, along with pieces of potato and green beans.

"There! See what you made me do!" she screamed. Then she suddenly turned strangely quiet, as if all force was blown out of her. "Maybe you'll decide that the dinners I make are good enough after all," she said quietly. Then she went upstairs. Flaky heard her slamming the door to her room.

Hours later, Flaky tossed and turned in bed. She could not get the scene at dinner out of her mind. Lammy had looked so strange.

Afterward, Flaky had cleaned up the mess. Then she found that she was unable to eat her own dinner. She had put it in the fridge.

Now her stomach growled.

She got out of bed and put on a dressing gown, moving quietly so Lammy wouldn't be disturbed.

As soon as Flaky opened the door to her room, she felt a draft. The temperature got colder and colder as she crept down the stairs. By the time she got to the living, she was freezing.

Every window in the room was wide open.

Cold air was rushing in on all sides.

Shivering, teeth chattering, Flaky ran from window to window, closing them.

It was only then that she aw the light from the window falling on the canary cage. The cover had slipped down and she could see that inside, the canary was lying on the floor of the cage.

The cold had killed it.

* * *

**AN- Don't worry no real animals have been harmed when I was writing this chapter.**

**Oh, and you know that thing I was on about in the last authors not, you know the whole saying one thing but meaning another, I was on about Lammy's explanation (about the briefcase) so reading it again might reveal some hidden meanings.**


	17. Chapter 17

**AN- I will never apologise for the end of this chapter! Never!**

**StariChanx- Well I promise that the evidence will add up eventually. As for sister bonding, I have to agree with for Lammy's reaction to the canary, yeah, I think that it's pretty self-explanitory... I need to stop getting attached to fictional canaries...**

**HTFan- I wouldn't quit the deep thinking yet if i was you, you may be onto something!**

* * *

Chapter 17

Flaky's appetite vanished when she saw the dead canary. For a long time, she was unable to take her eyes off the bird. A dull, jellied lump of terror formed in her stomach. The bird's death was no accident. She was sure of it. It was cold outside, there was no reason to open the windows. Now it was freezing in the room.

The poor little bird, she thought. Lammy made it a victim of her anger against me. How could she be so cruel?

Flaky went back to bed and fell into a fitful sleep. In her dreams she ran down the tunnel again, pursued by the fierce shadowy figure. The dream was no less terrifying because of its familiarity.

When the nightmare faded she tossed and turned, somewhere between sleep and waking, she thought she had felt hands touching her hair, but the feeling hovered on the edge of her sleep.

Then the sound of Lammy's voice jerked her awake.

"There! With your hair cut off, it won't be so easy for someone to recognise you if you go sneaking out again."

She held a handful of Flaky's hair, her lips drawn back from her teeth in an eerie grin.

"Now everything's hunky-dory."

Frantically, Flaky touched her hands to her scalp. She felt short, spiky tufts of hair.

She jumped from the bed and ran to the mirror. Her reflection horrified her. Her hair stuck out all over her head in uneven clumps.

She blinked, and the reflection changed. Her hair hung down her back just as it had before.

She shook her head quickly and looked again. Her hair was still the same length.

Flaky took a long deep breath and exhaled. After a few moments she realised what happened. Her mind had played a trick on her.

She had only dreamed that Lammy came in and chopped off her hair. The dream had been so scary, so vivid, so real, that at first she hadn't known when the dream stopped, and what she saw when she was awake started. For an instant, her mind was convinced that the dream was real.

She sat down on the edge of her bed and cradled her bed in her hands. She had pushed her mistrust of Lammy to the back of her mind, but could ignore it no longer. Plus, she had grown fearful of her. The dream was proof of that.

Lammy had admitted that she'd told her lies, but Flaky wasn't convinced that she had finally told her the truth. She just couldn't believe that she could do that to other peoples possessions. She couldn't imagine why Lammy would lie about such a thing though. She raked a hand through her hair. There had to be a way to find some answers. But where could she turn?

Then she had an idea.

* * *

"Can I speak to Dr. Sniffles please?"

The nurse behind the hospital desk looked distracted. So did the three other nurses behind the desk. Since Flaky was ignored the first time, she repeated the question.

"Excuse me," Flaky raised her voice, "I need to see Dr. Sniffles."

This time a nurse looked up. Her face wore an expression of annoyance.

"Do you have an appointment?"

Flaky shook her head. "No, but I really need to see her. It's terribly important."

The nurse went back to her paperwork. She spoke without even looking at Flaky. "The doctor is too busy. You'll have to call for an appointment."

"Please, can't you just check? I came all the way over here, and it's very important."

The woman looked up sharply. "I've told you the doctor is too busy. We can't have everybody just waltzing in off the street to see him. You'll have to call and make an appointment."

Flaky tapped her foot impatiently. She hoped that Dr. Sniffles could tell her something about her stay at the hospital that would help sort things out. She didn't have much hope, but she didn't know what else to try. She just had to talk to him.

"Look please, can't you just check with Dr. Sniffles?"

The nurse slapped the counter with her hand. "What's the matter with you? Don't you understand that you have to call for an appointment?"

"It doesn't make any sense to call to make an appointment if I'm already here," Flaky snapped. "Why can't I just make an appointment now?"

"Because you have to call. That's the way it's done," the nurse snapped.

Flaky gave an exasperated sigh. Then she heard a voice behind her. "Flaky! i didn't think we'd ever see you again!"

Flaky turned around and came face-to-face with Dr. Sniffles.

"Oh, Dr. Sniffles. I'm so glad to see you! I need to ask you some questions, but they told me you were too busy."

Dr. Sniffles nodded wearily. "That's always true. But perhaps we can talk a little, if you don't mind walking while we do it. I'm on my way to look at a patient."

"I don't care if we run, as long as I can talk to you."

Dr. Sniffles smiled. Flaky's heart sank when she saw it was the beaming game show host kind of smile she'd seen before. She looked the doctor in the eye.

"Please, Dr. Sniffles, whatever you do, don't just nod and smile and tell me not to worry the way you did when I was in the hospital. I'm desperate."

The smile vanished from Dr. Sniffles face. "All right," he said after a moment. "It sounds like you have some very important questions." He started walking down the corridor, and Flaky followed at his side.

"You know, Flaky, I called your house several times and never got an answer. We were trying to monitor your progress. Then finally I got a hold of your sister, and she told me you were away visiting relatives."

So that's who called when I overheard Lammy on the phone, Flaky said to herself. "Well, Dr. Sniffles, I wasn't visiting relatives. That's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about. It's all so confusing, I hardly know where to begin."

"It certainly sounds confusing," Dr. Sniffles agreed. "I don't understand why Lammy would tell me you went away, when you didn't. Before you left the hospital, I spoke with her and told her you should come in each week for follow up visits."

"It's strange all right," Flaky said. "I know I'm grasping at straws, but can you recall anything I said while I was in the hospital that stood out? I'm looking for something that might trigger a memory."

Dr. Sniffles shook his head. "I'm sorry. I wish I could help."

Flaky looked away and sighed. "I suppose that's what I expected." She looked at Dr. Sniffles."It's such a wild, incredible thing. I woke up one day and found out that I had been in a coma for four months... and I'd forgotten who I was."

Suddenly Dr. Sniffles stopped walking and turned to Flaky. His face wore a stunned expression. "Flaky, why in the world would you think that you were in a coma for four months? Is that what your sister told you?"

Flaky nodded, her heart beating faster.

"Flaky, you were only in a coma for a few days."


	18. Chapter 18

**AN- Right so I admit that, that was a horrible place to end the chapter, so to make it up to you, I have quickly typed this up. And just to warn you, you may be kicking yourself for not noticing these details.**

**HTFan- Your review made my day, thanks so much! There is nothing better than being complemented! And to answer your question, well you will just have to stick with me until the end.**

**StariChanx- I'm not so sure, I have dreams like that all the time! No the dream came from the time when my little sister had her hair cut, and I honestly didn't know who she was for a moment, and don't worry the masked man will appear again! (Just not in this chapter)**

* * *

Chapter 18

Why would Lammy tell me if I'd been in a coma for four months when I'd only been in the hospital for a few days? Flaky asked herself again and again as she left the hospital.

By the time she got on the bus and was headed for Happy Tree Town, she had put together some possible answers that she didn't like very much.

If I'd been in a coma for four months, then the idea that I shouldn't return to school seems more believable than if I'd only been out for a short while. Lammy made up the lie to make it easier to keep me at home, away from everyone.

If I had been in a coma for four months, wouldn't my leg have been healed? After all, I didn't break it, and it was better after I'd been home for a week. And why would it have taken months for Lammy to find me, when I was in a hospital a short drive from where we live?

How could I have been so gullible?

Now that I have found out about all the lies Lammy told me, what next? And what about all those broken valuables?

Flaky looked out at the trees floating past as the bus moved down the road.

If only I could remember.

The bus drew closer to Happy Tree Town, and Flaky knew what she would do. She would visit Cuddles and talk to him.

* * *

When Cuddles saw Flaky enter the shop, a wide smile spread across his face. "Hi! The way you ran off that time, I was afraid I was never going to see you again."

"Well, here I am, can we talk?"

Cuddles came from behind the counter.

"You bet we can! My break has just started. C'mon, let's get going."

Once outside the store, Cuddles kept walking fast until they were at the end of the street, then he turned a corner.

"Hey! Hey! Not so fast!" Flaky was struggling to keep up."

Cuddles stopped. "Oh, sorry. I'm a fast walker." There was still a rather large grin on his face.

"Cuddles, I've got to talk to you."

"It sounds serious," Cuddles said, looking into her eyes.

"It is." Flaky looked back at him. "Lets walk to the park."

Cuddles nodded and followed her to the little park at the center of town. They took a seat at a bench.

Flaky's thoughts whirled. She wanted to tell him about the amnesia... to blurt everything out. Yet she was afraid to. What if Cuddles thought she was crazy? Flaky clenched her fists in her lap.

"There are some really weird things going on in my life," she said. "And I've got to talk to someone."

Cuddles nodded.

Flaky bit her lip. "This is going to sound pretty strange, but I was in a car accident and I hit my head. Ever since then, I've had amnesia."

She looked at Cuddles quickly. His eyes were wide with surprise, but he was still sitting there. He hadn't jumped up and run away, or yelled that she was out of her mind.

"I can't imagine what that's like. Frightening, I'm sure. You don't remember anything?"

Flaky gave a little shrug. "I've remembered a few things. Just bits and pieces. Anyway, I've been staying with my sister. She told me my parents were killed in the same car accident that gave me the amnesia."

"I'm sorry about your parents." Cuddles laid a hand gently on her arm.

Flaky shook her head. "Thanks. But it's pretty strange. I don't remember them yet."

Now that she'd started her story, Flaky resolved to finish it. "The problem is with my sister. I know she's lying to me about a lot of things, but I'n not sure why. She doesn't want me to talk on the phone or leave the house either. She'd have a fit if she knew I was here right now." Flaky's words were tumbling out faster and faster.

"My sister Lammy lies about everything. She even lied about her job. She kept talking about being a big executive, but I saw her shelving books in the library..."

"Hold it!" Cuddles interrupted suddenly. "Your sister's name is Lammy, and she works in the library?"

"That's right," Flaky nodded. "Why? Do you know my sister?"

Cuddles shook his head and ran a hand through his hair.

"No, but I know about her."

He looked at Flaky with an appraising stare. "It seems impossible that she's your sister. It must have been tough growing up with her. Everybody knows that she's completely crazy."

* * *

**AN- Oops I did it again!**


	19. Chapter 19

**AN- just to let you know, this chapter gets a little creepy... and well, you'll just have to wait and see. (More cliff-hangers! Muhahhahah!)**

**HTFan- I don't know what to say. I don't, I could go on forever thanking you for your reviews, for you wonderful, wonderful reviews, however I don't have that long so I think just giving you the next chapter and promising to finish this story no matter what should just scratch the surface of my gratitude.**

**ashdash2417- Thanks, and would have to agree!**

* * *

Chapter 19

Cuddles stopped speaking suddenly. "I'm sorry," he murmured after a moment. "I shouldn't have said that about your sister."

Flaky let out a long sigh. "I suppose I should be angry... but somehow, I'm not. I'm starting to think that she's crazy too."

Cuddles looked concerned as he spoke. "Maybe you shouldn't go home, Flaky. Listen, I'm sorry to say this about your sister, but she's done some pretty strange things. Every so often she has some kind of wild temper tantrum in public." He lowered his voice to a hush. "Peopel have suspected her of stealing for years. I think some people even knew she took things, but kept quiet because they felt sorry for her."

"The briefcase!" Flaky blurted out, looking at him with wide eyes. "I found a breifcase full of valuables. Lammy said I stole them."

"You're kidding!" Cuddles was shaking his head. "I don't believe it, Flaky. I'd sooner believe that she's the one who took them. Listen, people have openly accused her of stealing more then once. They could never prove it, but then..." Cuddles voice trailed off.

"Then what?"

"Well..." Cuddles looked at the ground. "It's complecated."

"Complecated?"

Cuddles was silent for a moment. He stuffed both hands in his pockets.

"Everyone knows Lammy's got, problems. People feel sorry for her. The only reason she's even got that job in the library is because the librarian has known her since she was a little girl and wanted to help her."

Cuddles paced back and forth a few times. "If people knew she had stolen so many things, they might think differently." He stood close to Flaky. "Really, I think she could be dangerous. I'm asking you again, don't go home."

"Oh, come on, Cuddles." Flaky got to her feet. "She may be weird, but I don't think she'd hurt me. Besides, if I don't go home, where would I go? I don't have any money... and I don't have any memory. Look, I'll come back and visit you soon." She looked up at the clock on the bank. "I've got to go."

Cuddles called after her twice as she walked away. She didn't turn around. She was thinking of what she was going to say to Lammy.

The house was quiet. Flaky was glad she'd have time to organise her thoughts and decide what she wanted to say before Lammy got home. It should be at least an hour before she arrived.

Flaky walked through the kitchen and into the living room. She passed the table full of figurines where she had placed the canary cage just a while ago. Something on the table caught her eye.

It was a new figurine.

A canary.

Its newness stood out among the other figurines that now had a thin layer of dust. So did the table. Flaky took a step away from the table and swallowed hard. She turned and headed up the stairs.

At the top of the stairs she paused before turning into her own room. Lammy's door was open.

"Lammy?" Flaky called softly, then again louder. "Lammy?"

When there was no answer, she pushed the door open and stepped inside. She gave a little gasp of surprise. Lammy's tidiness had slipped in the rest of the house, but here it had fallen off the edge. Dust balls decorated the coners and peeked from under the bed. There must have been at least a hundred figurines jumbled in confusion all over the dresser and night table. Dust coated them like fur.

Lammy's shoes and clothes were everywhere, on the floor, on the bed and even on the windowsill. No wonder she's been looking a little disheveled lately, Flaky thought.

A little shiver ran down her spine as she looked at the scene. The state of the room was concrete evidence that Lammy had been losing it for a while, and losing it big time.

Flaky pulled open the drawer on the bedside table. She almost laughed at her good fortune. Inside the drawer was Lammy's diary.

Her elation vanished in an instant. The diary was probably locked. If she tampered with it, Lammy was sure to know.

She picked up the diary and examined it. Her heart skipped a beat. The lock was already broken. Lammy probably thought she didn't have to worry about keeping the diary locked because she always locked her door.

But not today.

Today she forgot.

With her heart beating faster, Flaky leaned against the wall and opened the diary and began to read.

She was surprised that the diary started on the day Lammy had brought Flaky home from the hospital.

_Now my little sister is home. I can take care of her, and we'll be together always._

She turned a page.

_Flaky doesn't remember a thing. I will make memories for her._

Flaky turned page after page about how the two of them played games together and other trivial details. It was pretty boring.

Then the entries started getting angry.

_She doesn't appreicate anything I do. She'd better start to change... selfish... ungrateful. She's not the sister I wanted._

The next page made Flaky's scalp prickle. The page was scrawled all over with words that were carved deep into the page in red ink.

_I hate my sister. I hate my sister. I hate my sister._

Taking a deep breath, Flaky turned the page and read on. The more she read, the more terrified she became.

The entire diary was about her.

And then she came to a page that chilled her to the bone.

_I kept hoping Flaky would change and become the sister I wanted. I gave her every chance, but now I know she wont. I'm going to have to kill her._

Flaky gave a little cry and started to run from the room. Only then did she see that Lammy was standing in the doorway, watching her.

She was holding a knife.


	20. Chapter 20

**AN- Well, with that cliffhanger, I think that I'd better just get on with the story.**

**HTFan- Wow, you have done some detective work, I'm very impressed! I can safely say that the masked man will make an appearance, just not for a while. And no, I will NEVER stop the cliffhangers! (Cue evil laughter and lightning.)**

**StariChanx- Well, Lammy is stable enough to have a job, and as you probably know, many people do believe that rumours (like what Cuddles was telling Flaky) are often over exaggerated. So, people think that they are just rumours. I'm glad you liked the canary thing, I honestly had no idea where I was going with it, I just thought that it would be creepy.**

**ashdash2417- Well she doesn't appear to be in the right frame of mind. So Lammy probably knows, she just doesn't care...**

* * *

Chapter 20

"I was just going to fix you a sandwich," **(AN- I'm not even sorry.) **Lammy said, her eyes twinkling and an eerie smile playing on her lips. She turned the blade of the knife this way and that, as Flaky stared, paralyzed with fear.

"When I called and called, I came looking for you." Lammys expression was mocking. "Yikes! I guess you were so engrosed in your reading you didn't hear me." Her voice turned into an angry snarl. "Did you find my diary interesting? You shouldn't read other peoples diaries. Shame, shame on you." She took a step toward Flaky, waving the knife in front of her.

Flaky dropped the diary and screamed. She lifted her hands in front of her face.

Lammy's eyes blazed. "Everything always turned out alright for you. Off you went with your friends. You forgot all about me. Well it's not goning to turn out like that this time," she hissed.

"What are you going to do?" Flaky whispered terrified.

"You read my diary, didn't you?" Lammy replied, in a whisper.

Without thinking about what she was doing, Flaky acted blindly, driven by a mixture of terror and rage. She shoved her shoulder against Lammy's and pushed her aside.

Surprised, Lammy was caught off guard and stumbled. It gave Flaky a moment to start racing down the stairs.

In an instant, she heard Lammy running behind her. The blade of the knife hissed as it lashed through the air.

Flaky leaped down the stairs two and three at a time, praying that she could open the door before Lammy caught her.

Soon, however, she knew it was not to be. The moment when she lost her balance went by in a blinding flash and in slow motion at the same time. Too late she realised she was going to fall, and understood the reason. She saw her toe reach for the stair below and watched it brush against the figurine of a sleeping cat that had been left there. In the same twisted moment, she knew that Lammy had put it there so she would fall.

The moment vanished, and Flaky continued falling until she landed in a heap at the bottom of the stairs. She dreaded the slashing of the knife that she expected to come. Instead, Lammy grabbed her roughly by the collar and began pulling her along the floor, the carpet burning her body.

She's dragging me toward the basement, Flaky realised. She tried to grab one of Lammy's legs and pull her off balance, but it was impossible. Lammy was much bigger than Flaky and solidly built. Plus, she was fueled with the energy of madness.

Soon, Lammy was opening the basement door. She gave a heave that sent Flaky half stumbling, half falling down the basement steps.

She landed on the cold concrete floor and heard Lammy slam the door shut. "You stay down there until I figure out how I'm going to kill you," she heard Lammy shrieking on the other side of the door. "It's what you deserve for being such a selfish, ungrateful sister. After everything I did for you, you had to have your other friends and your football. You won't be having anymore. Just think about that!"

Flaky curled up into a ball on the floor and listened to Lammy's insane raving. It went on for what seemed like hours. Finally, Flaky fell asleep.

When she awoke, it was quiet. Slowly and painfully, she uncurled herslef and tried to sit up. Every part of her body felt achy and sore.

I'm bruised and banged up all right, but nothing's broken, she decided when she'd finally managed to get herself into a sitting position.

The light was on now, so Lammy must have opened the door and switched it on while she was sleeping. Somehow, she knew that the switch was at the top of the steps by the door.

Flaky looked up and saw that Lammy had left something for her near the top of the stairs. It was a tray with a covered dish on it.

Only then did Flaky realise that she was famished and terrible thirsty. Her stomach growled emptily as she got up. Her hunger overshadowed her pain, and she hardly noticed her bruises as she crawled up the stairs toward the tray. She eased herself onto the step beside the dish. First she picked up the glass filled with water and drank several large gulps. Instantly, the water made her feel more awake and alive.

Her stomach rumbled again. She set down the glass and lifted the cover off her dish.

Flaky whirled and turned her head away from the sight of what was on the dish. She had a sickening feeling she knew how Lammy was going to kill her.

She was going to starve her to death.

Under the covered dish was a small bird, lying on a bed of lettuce. The bird must have been kept in the freezer, because it was frozen solid.

It was Flaky's dead canary.


	21. Chapter 21

**AN- Well I've typed and typed for a while now and I think that I have enough for a new chapter and I think that this one reveals quite a bit of information.**

**HTFan- There is some hope, Flaky is in the hands of a writer who has something up their sleeve (this would be more effective if I was wearing long sleeves while writing this...oh well, I think you know what I mean.) And there aren't that many chapters left, I don't think.**

**StariChanx- Don't worry about the cat, it was just a figurine! And you will be getting some back story soon, and prepare for more pain, as my cliff-hangers have struck again!**

**ashdash2417- To be honest, at least the ants where defending themselves...**

* * *

Chapter 20

"How did you like breakfast?" Flaky heard Lammy chuckling outside the locked basement door. Nearly an hour had passed since she'd discovered the dead canary. She'd placed it, plate and all, in a bin she'd found in the corner of the basement.

"Come on Flaky," the gloating voice called again. "Talk to your sister. I can't decide what to fix you for lunch. Maybe you can give me some ideas. You must be getting hungry." The sound of Lammy's laughter drifted down the stairs.

"Answer me Flaky." Lammy's voice had gotten meaner. "Tell me what you want for lunch. Unless you want me to use my imagination."

Sitting in a corner of the basement, Flaky rested her head in her hands. She wished Lammy would just go away and leave her alone.

"Flaky!" Lammy screeched. When there was no reply, she kicked the door hard. Then Flaky heard the sound of footsteps clumping angrily away. Funny how Lammy's footsteps are so loud and clumsy, yet when she wants to, she can glide across the floor without making a sound, she thought.

Well, she left me alone, so I got my wish, I suppose, Flaky thought to herself. Giving in to despair wouldn't do anything for her. She had to keep calm, keep thinking clearly, and figure a way out of this.

A grim smile spread across her face. Why am I kidding myself? There's no way out of here. The basement windows are boarded shut. The only way to get free is to get past the mainiac who wants to kill me. It's impossible.

Don't believe it, whispered a small, faint voice in her head. Flaky sighed. Okay, she wouldn't give up, or believe that it was impossible to get out of here. But first she had to find a way to calm down, to quiet the terror that screamed inside and threatened to destroy her sanity.

Resolutely, Flaky rose to her feet and began walking around the basement. Thre wasn't much there but junk. No basement tool shop that might have contained something to use against Lammy.

No gardening tools were stored down here, either.

As she walked, it occurred to her that Lammy might have been planning this for days. It would have taken time to clear out anything that could be used as a weapon. After her third ciruit of the basement, Flaky was convinced that Lammy had done just that.

Nothing had been left to chance.

Wearily, she sat down again. Lying on the floor next to her was a roll of paper, the kind used to line drawers and shelves. She picked it up and tore off a piece. Digging into her pocket, she fished out a pen and began to scribble on it, doodling absently. If only I could draw an open window and climb through it she thought, like a cartoon.

Soon the doodles became more intricate designs. Gradually, she felt excitement building. Then it was as if a switch and been thrown and light had flooded her mind.

Hurridly she made a few more marks on the paper. Then she jumped to her feet.

There was a pile of old newspapers in one corner of the basement. She grabbed several of them and placed them at her feet. Then she started to really draw.

First she sketched the bin and pile of newspapers in one corner. Then she tried something different. A self-portait from memory.

Time flew by as Flaky drew. She forgot her bruises and her hunger in her excitement. Even when hours later Lammy stood screaming outside the basement door, she didn't hear her. She was totaly consumed by what she was doing. She didn't know how long she kept making drawings, but when she finaly stopped, there was a pile of them strewn around her on the basement floor.

Flaky flexed her right hand. it ached from holding the pen, which was begining to run out of ink. Her legs were getting stiff. Slowly, she got to her feet and flexed her ankles several times to get the blood flowing through them again.

Suddenly, something in one of the corners caught her eye. It was some kind of sack, stuffed behind some broken woodern chairs.

The corner was so dark that she could hardly make out the shape of it. Flaky stared at it, her brain begining to tingle.

She stuck her hand in the sack and pulled out a purse. Her hand hamering and her fingers trembling, she began examining the contents.

Her chest fairly exploded as she pulled out an ID card with her picture on it.

_Flaky Quills_

_Oakwood College._

Quills, she repeated to herself. It had just dawned on her that Lammy had never given her a last name. Her whole body was shaking as she took out more things from the purse. There was a driver's licence, a library card and a membership card to the Jump! Sports Club.

There were pictures in the sack too. Mainly shots of her, at what she presumed to be the sports club. Flaky clutched the sack tightly in her hand. While having visions of her at the game, that big football match.

Winning the cup.

Having that team photo taken.

I remember.

The visions of her playing sport vanished, and another vision flashed in her mind.

She saw herself standing outside with Lammy. They were children. Both of them were laughing. Another little girl ran up to them, and in her mind's eye she could see Lammy's expression of anger. Lammy began screaming at that little girl, who ran away, crying. Then Lammy had chased ofter Flaky. There was a rock in her hand...

The scene faded, and Flaky felt a shudder run through her body. I remeber that day, Lammy, she said to herself. The other little girl's name was Petunia, and she wanted to play with us. But you didn't like other kids playing with us. It made you angry. And when I wanted the other kids to play it made you very angry.

They thought you'd outgrow it, but you didn't. When you got older you kept getting angrier and angrier, and more and more jealous of anyone I wanted for a friend. You started taking it out on me, and you didn't just scream... you hit.

Finaly we had to be kept apart.

Then a flash of understanding blazed through her. It filled her with dread. It's true what Cuddles said about you, Lammy. You're crazy. She whispered to herself. Flaky clenched her hands in her lap as the thought finished.

And you're not my sister.


	22. Chapter 22

**AN- What better way to celebrate the start of the holidays than to give you lot a new chapter! And the famed masked man makes another appearance! Oh, and congratulations to _BlackTails25_ for predicting correctly as Lammy isn't Flaky's sister!**

**HTFan- Well here is a little more background for you to have a little play with, and I suppose it gives Flaky some more motivation to escape.**

**Starichanx- I'm pretty good with names... Yeah, Quills... No, I just needed something that would show that Lammy wasn't Flaky's sister and Quills does it best.**

**ashdas2417- Trust me, you haven't seen anything yet!**

* * *

Chapter 22

_Lammy and I were childhood friends._

The memory had been so far out of reach, yet now was easily within Flaky's grasp.

_We pretended we were sisters. It was a game we played all the time._

A veil of darkness still covered the past, but it was fading now, piece by piece. She recalled clearly how she and Lammy had lived next door to each other, in another town, she just couldn't remember the name of it.

_Lammy and I were inseperable when we were children. Then Lammy's parents moved miles away to Happy Tree Town. Our parents took us back and forth every week. Until Lammy's problems got worse... and worse. The visits became fewer and fewer._

_When we were teenagers, we visited more frequently for a while. It started when Lammy was in the mental hospital. Then she got out for a few months, and for a while it seemed she was better. It didn't last. Soon Lammy was violent all over again._

On the cold cement floor, Flaky hugged her knees to her chest. A wave of fatigue swept over her, as if remembering had drained her of energy. She fell asleep on the cold concrete floor, her drawings strewn all around her.

When Flaky awoke, an ashy light filtered through the gaps in the boards over the windows. She turned her head and saw two glittering eyes staring back at her. A scream tore from her throat as she realised that the eyes belonged to a rat that was watching her, it's tail neatly coiled round it's body.

At the sound of her scream, the rat fled. Flaky felt a thick, soupy terror at the thoguht of rats crawling all over her body... biting her as she slept.

She was sure she would never sleep again, but then weariness overtook her once more, and her eyes closed again. The walls of the basement faded away and she was dribbling that football, down the pitch, towards the goal...

When Flaky woke again, the overhead lightbulb was glaring. Lammy must have opened the door and turned it on again.

Hesitantly, Flaky looked up at the basement steps to see if she had left another offering.

She hadn't.

It was dark outside, that much she could see through the boarded windows. What time is it? She wondered. She was aware of a gnawing pain in her stomach and a parched feeling in her mouth. If Lammy's not even going to give me anything to drink, death will come quickly.

Painfully, she sat up and blinked as her eyes adjusted to the dim light. Where is the rat?

Then she heard something that drove all thoughts of the rat from her mind.

Voices.

"Sorry to wake you at this time of night, but you understand why we've got to find this girl as soon as possible," a voice boomed. Flaky's heart leaped.

"Oh I'm happy to help." Lammy's voice dripped with sincerity. She's laying it on too much, Flaky thought. She wanted to scream, but she could hardly breathe.

"I'm sure you are," the voice replied in exaggerated politeness.

He knows somethings up with her, Flaky whispered to herself with excitement. There was a roaring sound in her head.

"I really must ask you to let me get some sleep now. I have an important job to do tomorow."

"Oh, yes, I understand completely." The masucline voice oozed with charm. "I'll get right out of your way... after I search the basement."

"Oh come on now! You don't really think that's neccesary?" Lammy's voice took on the panicy, high pitched squeek it did when she was nervous. "I can't, I can't find the key."

When the man spoke this time he let Lammy know the game was over. "Don't be afraid Lammy. You're not going to be out in prision, we only want to help you."

At the sound of the word 'help', Flaky found her voice.

"Help!" she screamed, with all the strength she could gather. "Help! Get me out of here!"

In answer, there was a series if heavy thumps on the basement door. As soon as the door opened, Flaky was alredy running up the stairs.

"Get me away from her," she gasped as she bounced through the door into the kitchen. When she saw her saviour, shock sparked thorugh her.

She was staring at the masked man.

"Super hero," he smiled. "Name's Splendid." The smile did wonders to his face, changing it from frightening to friendly in an instant. Beside him, Lammy looked as if she'd turned off, somehow, as if she'd gone somewhere and left her body behind.

"How... where... what?" Flaky couldn't get the words out, but she hoped the message got across.

"A friend of yours, called Cuddles I think." His childish grin dissapeared. "I wish he'd told the truth I first showed him the picture, he'd said that he had never seen you. I told him to get in touch if he ever found out where you could be. I appeared to me like he thought that he was protecting you."

"That's my fault...sorry."

"I saw you in town too. I wish you weren't so good at getting away."

"I was running from the wrong person." Flaky was begining to feel woozy from her burst. "I should have been running from Lammy."

Suddenly, Flaky's mind snapped into alertness. Her gaze darted around the kitchen. She didn't see Lammy.

"Where's Lammy?" Flaky said in a frightened whisper. "You have to watch out for her. She's crazy!"

Splendid gave her a smile. "Don't worry. I can handle Lammy."

Flaky's jaw dropped as over Splendid's shoulder, Lammy appeared out of no where. She came creeping up behind him in an eerie silent way.

Splendid continued to smile at Flaky with confidence. The words, "Look out!" were barely out of her mouth when the iron pan in Lammy's hand connected with his skull. There was a sickening thud. Flaky wathced as he collasped like an infaltable doll that someone let the air out of.


	23. Chapter 23

**AN- Well, I think that before you read this chapter you should know that the ending will make sense eventually. Well, it will be explained in a future chapter, most likely the next one.**

**HTFan- It just goes to show, never judge someone by their appearance and don't worry Flaky may find a way...**

**ashdash2417- Splendid never does manage to save anyone does he? Flaky will have to do some quick thinking now!**

* * *

Chapter 23

Flaky's hand fled to her mouth as she saw the intense rage in Lammy's eyes. It was as if there was no soul behind them. An animal like growl erupted from her throat as she raised the pan over her head once more. The thought went throught Flaky's mind that she must be very strong to do that with one hand.

Lammy brought then pan swining down in an arc. She bent her knees, aiming for the body of the superhero.

Already running for the door, Flaky screamed, "Don't!"

Lammy's arm jerked to a stop. She looked up at Flaky with wild, startled eyes. Suddenly, she lost interest in bashing the collasped body of the hero. Instead, she sent the pan crashing into a corner and chased after Flaky.

As she ran, Flaky overturned a chair in Lammy's path. Lammy grunted as she tripped over it. There was a hollow, metalic clang as Lammy shoved the chair out if the way and it landed againt the cabinet under the sink.

Flaky could hear her own breathing coming in heavy gasps as she reached for the knob on the kitchen door. Her hands were so damp with sweat, that her hands slipped as she tried to turn it. She heard Lammy's footsteps runnig behind her.

"I'll tear you apart!" Lammy screamed. Something struck a pane of glass in the kitchen door, shattering it. Lammy had thrown a cup.

Flaky gasped as something struck her in the middle of her back. She's going to try hitting me in the head. The thought raced through her mind.

A dish shattered on the wall. Flaky managed to get a secure grip on the door knob, she turned it. In a second she ran throught the doorway and into the garage.

She gave silent thanks when she saw the garage door was open. Panting, she ran through it and out into the street and the inky darkness of the night.

In the hushed darkness, Flaky heard the sound of Lammy's running footsteps. She didn't dare imagine how close she must be.

Screaming for help was impossible. It took every last bit of breath she had to keep going.

She kept running, turning the corner at the end of the street. She went past the pizzaeria. Gates were pulled down over the enterance.

What time could it be? Flaky wondered. Eleven at night? Or three in the morning? If I make it into town without Lammy catching me, what then? If everything's shut, how will I find help?

The headlights of an approaching car glared in her eyes, monentarlily blinding her. She waved frantically, but it whizzed by.

Flaky was panting, her breath coming in shallow gasps, She ran on, driven only by fear, heading towards the town center.

Another car passed and Flaky waved again, but it didn't even slow down. We probably look insane, she thought, imagining the specticle of her and Lammy racing down the side of the road.

No more cars passed. Soon Flaky reached the center of the town and ran through the darkened streets.

The shops were all closed. The only light visible came from the street lights. Even the fair at the park was dark. It looked abandoned. Flaky ran towards it. She hoped that among the clutter of rides and stalls, she would find a place to hide.

Flaky struggled to keep up the pace. As she ran she sometimes thought she actually felt Lammy's breath on her neck.

Finally, she reached the fairground. By now, her legs were nearly collaspsing under her. She managed to get behind a ticket stand and leaned against it, gasping for air.

Where is Lammy, she wondered. She knew that she was around somewhere, lurking in the shadows waiting to pounce. She strained her ears, listening for the sound of her foot steps. All she heard was the harsh sound of her ragged breathing.

Then she felt someone gran her roughly by the collar, yanking her away from the stand, pulling her along.

Flaky lashed out blindly, but her hands only connected with air. She fought to keep from losing her balance as she stumbled along.

Then suddenly, the carousel lights went on, and the music began to play.


	24. Chapter 24

**AN- Just to let you lot know, this chapter explains why the music started... because it's flashback time! I do apologise for the length of this chapter, it was the only way for me to get this one out so quickly, as I'm being dragged to visit family for the week-end.**

**HTFan- Thanks so much, though you may have to wait a little longer... However you are getting some explanation, that has to account for something right? Right? **

**ashdashy2417- *Stands up and receives applause* And to answer your question, think of a fairground, now remove all other noise except for the music (most likely a circus type theme) from one ride, that's what Flaky can hear right now.**

* * *

Chapter 24

_The carosel was turning. The horses were going up and down, up and down, and the music was playing._

_"Come on Flaky, let's go, let's ride the horses!"_ It was Lammy calling to her. She looked to be around eight years old. She was laughing, not that insane laugh.

A real laugh.

_"Just a minute! Wait! Let's wait for Petunia! I want her to come!"_ Flaky saw herself, around the age of five, running away from the carousel. I look like a boy, she thought.

She looked back towards the carousel where Lammy was standing and saw the little girls smile disapear. A shadow seemed to fall across her face, darkening it from within. She looked older than her years, and positively menacing.

_"No Flaky! Come here! Why do you want Petunia to come? I want it to just be us!"_

But the child Flaky wasn't paying any attention. She kept on running calling, _"Petunia! Petunia! Ride the carousel with us!"_

Another child emerged from the croud. She was around the same age as Flaky,blue hair in a tight, neat ponytail. The two girls grabbed each others hands and ran back towards the carousel. _"C'mon Petunia, it's going to start soon!"_

_The two of them were near the carousel now giggling as they ran. The man running the ride had his hand on the switch shaking his head as he waited. They were almost there..._

"No! Don't go any farther!" Flaky shouted in her mind to the children. But they kept on running, and Lammy had picked up a rock.

Flaky could see the whole scene as if it was happening before her eyes, even thought it had happened over ten years ago. _"I don't want her to come with us!" Lammy shouted as Petunia climbed on the carousel._

Then everything happened in slow motion. _Lammy drew back her arm, and the rock stuck Petunia on the shoulder, and she fell down, eyes watering with the pain._

_Lammy ran over and started pushing Flaky, all the time crying out. "See what you made me do! See what you made me do!" _

_Flaky had started to run away from her. Lammy had chased after her yelling, "Stop it! I'm sorry! Come, back Flaky, and let's play sisters!" _

_Tears were running down both girls faces._

* * *

The scene flashed into Flaky's mind with a white hot burst of clarity and was gone. The lights from the carousel went out, the horses stopped moving, and the music died. The sunshine was gone and the darkness ruled once more. The full moon bathed the deserted carnival grounds in an eerie light.

Flaky's foot hit a rock as Lammy pulled her along, sending sharp pain streaking through her foot and along her leg. She lost her balance and her knee slammed hard into the ground.

Lammy lost her grip on Flay's collar. In an insant, she turned around and was standing over her throat. From the look in her eyes, Flaky had no doubt in her mind that her childhood friend had turned into someone who wanted to kill her.


	25. Chapter 25

**AN- Well just a few more chapters to go until the end, so I'll just let you read on!**

**HTFan- Well quick thinking can come pretty easily when you are panicing, as you tend to do before you realise what has happened, and a friend may appear to help near the end...**

**ashdash2417- Flaky has most of her memories back, obviously when she meets her real family, they will all gradually return.**

* * *

Chapter 25

Flaky tried to twist away, but Lammy got both hands around her neck. Lammy jerked her head up and banged it back on the ground.

"I'm sick of you being such an ungrateful sister." Lammy hissed her words through her teeth, sounding like an angry snake. "If you want to get away from me so badly, I'll fix it so you'll get away for good."

Lammy began squeezing Flay's throat, her strong fingers digging into the flesh of her neck. Fighting for air, Flaky twisted her head to one side. It relieved some of the pressure on her neck in an instant. At the same time, she bent her knees and then kicked out with both feet, catching Lammy in the stomach.

"Gah!" Lammy croaked as the air was knocked out of her. When she fell backward, a look of shocked surprise on her face, Flaky scrambled to her feet and began to run.

She didn't get very far before Lammy was upon her again. Flaky felt the hands around her neck again, tightening. "I'm going to kill you." She growled the words into Flaky's ear.

Flaky struggled to pull away, but she was choking. Blackness was closing in from the edges of her vision. She felt as if she were falling, falling into a deep dark hole.

Behind Flaky, Lammy's eyes bulged with effort as she squeezed tighter and tighter. She began shaking Flaky like a rag doll.

In a desperate attempt, Flaky stopped struggling and let herself go limp. Her knees buckled and she fell forward, bracing herself as she hit the ground with outstretched hands.

Caught off guard, Lammy lost her balance and collapsed on the ground beside Flaky with a cry of surprise. Before Flaky could get to her feet, Lammy reached out and grabbed her ankle with a vice-like grip.

Putting all her strength behind it, Flaky drew back her right foot and kicked out as hard as she could. There was a sharp 'thwack' followed by a scream of rage and pain as she truck Lammy in the knee.

While Lammy lay on the ground with her hands clutching her knee. Flaky managed to scramble to her feet. She propelled herself over the ground in short strides. Lammy yelled after her, and Flaky knew that Lammy would be up again in no time, driven by the maniacal desire to kill.

The carousel loomed before her. Afraid that if she tried to run around it, Lammy would catch her, Flaky kept running straight on through the open gate and onto the carousel.

As soon as she had taken a few steps on the wooden boards her heart sank. Her footsteps sounded much louder than when she was running through the grass. it would be easy for Lammy to know where she was.

Her throat was hot and dry. She ducked behind one of the horses and took several large gulps of air. She knew that she had to keep moving, but she also knew she was exhausted and couldn't go on for much longer.

Flaky's eyes darted this way and that in the darkness. Where was Lammy? Was constantly ringing in her mind.

In the split second that she had last thought the question, Flaky felt a hand on her arm. She heard the hiss of angry breathing, and pulled away as if a iron had burned her.

Flaky ran, again dodging the horses. She ran with both her hands feeling the air in front of her, trying to keep from running into what she couldn't see. Behind her came the sound of Lammy's footsteps and her labored breathing.

Then there was an explosion of light and sound. Suddenly the carousel was ablaze with light, and it moved to the eerie sound of an organs melody.

For an instant Flaky's eyes were blinded by the lights. When she could make out the forms around her, she gasped at what she saw.

What she thought were the carousel horses of her childhood, had in fact been replaced by strange grotesque animals. Gargoyles.

The gargoyles danced to the music, up and down, up and down, their dark eyes staring into the night. But the most frightening expression didn't belong to the gargoyles. It was on Lammy's face.

For an instant the two girls looked at each other. Then Lammy lunged at Flaky, her features twisted into a grimace, her hands reaching out like claws.

Just as Lammy was about to catch her, Flaky twisted to one side. Lammy struck her hip on one of the gargoyles, and she shrieked in pain.

At the sound of Lammy's scream, Flaky stiffened. Acting blindly, she turned and lashed out at Lammy and hit her hard across the shoulders.

Still reeling from the shock of hitting her hip, Lammy went down. Flaky heard a dull thud as Lammy's head hit the boards of the carousel. Blinded by rage, Flaky prepared to hit her. She knelt over Lammy, her right hand curling in a fist, her teeth clenched together. She pulled back her arm, ready to strike. Then she realised that Lammy wasn't moving.

Through the sound of blood rushing through her head, Flaky heard people running towards the carousel. The lights on the Ferris wheel and several others rides blazed on one after another. The entire fairground was flooded with light in the middle of the darkened town. the effect was frightening and weirdly festive.

Flaky stood still, stunned by what was happening. Then she heard a voice that she knew was Cuddles'.

"Flaky are you alright?"

The voice came form the direction of the Ferris wheel. Flaky ran towards it. Cuddles walked towards her. He was surrounded by police. "Where's Lammy?" one of them asked, urgently.

"She's over there," Flaky said breathlessly, indicating the carousel. "Be careful. She's crazy."

"You're shivering," Cuddles said, embracing Flaky in his arms.

"She's crazy," Flaky repeated, leaning into him. "She's crazy."

"Don't worry Cuddles said, holding her. "The police will make sure she can't get at you."


	26. Chapter 26

**AN- Right, we are nearing the end of the story, I think that the next chapter after this one will be the epilogue, depending on what happens.**

**HTFan- I'm glad that someone at least saw this from Lammy's side, as all she did want was a sister, perhaps if she got help instead of being left on her own, these tragic events wouldn't of happened and Lammy could have been a little more stable. And when you get to the end you will find out that Flaky will most definitely need to be looking over her shoulder. **

**ashdash2417- Well she will meet her family in this chapter.**

* * *

Chapter 26

"When it comes to you, it seems my timing has always been off." Cuddles was sitting next to Flaky in the waiting room of Happy Tree Hospital. She had spent the night there and had been treated for any injuries. Now she waited for her father to arrive.

"It's not your timing Cuddles. It's just the way things are..." Flaky's voice trailed off. She glanced at Splendid, who sat across from them. He cleared his throat.

"Uh, I'm going to get some coffee. I'll be back in about ten minutes. Your dad should be here by then."

Now only Flaky and Cuddles were left in the waiting room. Flaky took out the piece of paper that Splendid had given her.

It was a poster. A missing person poster. It was unknown to Flaky how long Splendid had the poster for, but it did explain why he was constantly following her. Especially as there is a photo of her on it.

It was strange, all of a sudden, everything just, came back.

"My mother died when I was ten. But dad and I have always been close. He's probably been frantic..."

Cuddles nodded. "I'll bet you can't wait to see him. You know, I was talking to the librarian this morning. It seems that Lammy's parents died in a car accident a few months ago. The librarian said that Lammy began to act stranger and stranger after that."

Flaky twisted her hand in her lap. "I guess that's what made her obsessed with the idea of having a sister. She wanted to have a family of some kind again. She was lonely. Is it bad that, after everything that has happened, I feel a little sorry for her?"

Cuddles went silent for a moment. He obviously was uncomfortable with the direction the conversation was going.

Flaky folded the piece of paper and put it in her pocket. "You've been a great friend, Cuddles. If it weren't for you, I might not even be here."

Cuddles shook his head. "I don't think so. I'm glad that I helped Splendid find you, but I think that you would have found a way out one way or another."

"I wonder... You know, I remember exactly how it all started. It was the last day of school before the holidays. I stayed late in the art studio, just attempting to paint something. It wasn't turning out the way I wanted, so I decided to just leave it and go home."

Flaky felt a chill as she relived the scene in her mind. "That week, I thought I'd seen glimpses of Lammy around school. Each time, though, she was gone before I could really get a look at her, so I thought that I was mistaken. That night, when I went to my car, I never suspected a thing. It was under an underpass when it happened. In my dreams I saw it as a tunnel. Suddenly, I saw a face in the mirror. The eyes were blazing and the face was wrapped in a black scarf. it looked like a vision from a nightmare."

"Flaky, you're shaking! Maybe you shouldn't talk about this now."

Flaky shook her head. "No, it's better that I talk about it. The more I talk about it, the more the fear will go away." She took a deep breath before continuing. "By the time I'd driven through the underpass, I'd realised that it was Lammy hiding in the back seat, waiting for me. It didn't take long for me to realise that she was out of her mind, and I was really in trouble."

Cuddles stretched his legs out in front of him, clasped his hands behind his head, and stared up at the ceiling. Obviously uncomfortable,"I knew she was crazy. I even thought her capable of violence. But I never imagined her stalking someone and holding them prisoner. It's really incredible."

Flaky nodded. "I was so scared that I drove my car right into the woods. Somehow, I got away from Lammy. Someone saw me wandering by the side of the road and called an ambulance." She looked into Cuddles eyes. "Do you know they never found my car? Lammy must have... disposed of it somehow. Isn't that creepy?"

"Creepy," Cuddles said quietly. After a moment he looked at his watch. "I'll have to go Flaky, the shop opens in a few minutes. Listen, take care of yourself." He got up. "And keep in touch."

"I will," Flaky softly said.

* * *

A while later she heard a new voice. "Thank goodness, you're alright."

"Dad! You're finally here!" Flaky jumped up and hugged him. The embrace was held without a word. Flaky could feel her heart beating in her chest. Being in his arms was a dream come true.

Finally, they sat down. "The administration of this hospital is going to find itself in deep trouble when I get started with them," Flaky's father said gruffly. "The idea that they accepted Lammy's word without accepting any form of identification is outrageous! Your doctor had the nerve to wine that they were busy here!"

"I know dad, I know," Flaky agreed. "But let's not talk about it now, okay?"

Flaky's dad gave her hand a squeeze. "Okay, I'm just so angry. You'll never know just how worried I was." He looked into her eyes. "I've been taking care of your canaries for you. They miss you. So do all your friends."

"I miss them too," Flaky said. "You know, I never could believe Lammy's description of me as a girl who always stayed inside to do jigsaw puzzles."

They both burst out laughing.

After a moment, Flaky's father turned serious. "What happened to Lammy?" he asked.

Flaky bit her lip. She had been trying not to think too much about it. But it haunted her. "They haven't found Lammy," she whispered.


	27. Chapter 27

**AN- Well, here we have it, the last chapter. I hope that you have enjoyed this story, I'm sorry if it has ended a little too soon for your liking, I just didn't want to loose my interest in it, as that's what usually happens, and I hate it when stories go on hiatus and I also hate hypocrites. So I feel that ending the story here would be the best thing to do.**

**HTFan- Well, I seriously doubt that there will be a sequel, as one of my pet peeves is sequels that aren't as good as the originals. And I really don't want that to happen. This also gives you a big hint towards Flaky's safety, especially as I like a happy ending. And before I stop this reply, i just want to say, thanks so much, you have constantly given me reviews and that's something that I really appreciate, so to say thanks, I will start to think about writing another mystery/horror story, just give me some time... **

**StariChanx- Well, I think I better answer these questions, (Takes a deep breath) Lammy is very sneaky, and the cops were caught up in the confusion, as they also had to locate Flaky's father, and work out how the hospital got Flaky's records so wrong, this gave Lammy enough time to come too and get away. Lammy is now on the run from the law, and is the main antagonist here, and no there isn't anyone else after Flaky. And we are extremely close to the end of our tale. I haven't put in Flaky's friends, as I think that after all she has been through, some space and time to think would be needed. I'm glad you like Splendid as I was pretty nervous about his character.**

* * *

Epilogue

Flaky looked out the window of the art studio at her school. A month had passed since what she had come to refer to as the incident. Spring was in full bloom. Outside she could see the blossoms on the trees.

Flaky wiped her brush on a cloth. Several days each week, she had stayed late, to work on a series of pieces in the art studio. The painting she was currently working on was called, 'Amnesia'. It was the fourth painting she had done called 'Amnesia'.

"You'll work it out, and then you'll feel all right again. You've been through a lot, but you'll put it behind you." Her father had said. Flaky hoped he was right. She just couldn't imagine a time when she'd feel as she did before it all happened.

It's so quiet here, she thought. Maybe I shouldn't have stayed so late. She listened for the sound of activity. There wasn't any.

It was nearly the time when they would start locking the school doors. The caretaker usually came twenty minutes before to remind her that they'd be closing. But this evening... he didn't.

Flaky felt a chill in the room. She raised her eyes, and shrieked.

Lammy's eyes were blazing at her from the other side of the canvas.

"Look at this place! It's a mess!" She hissed. "Is this the way your sister taught you to keep your room?" Then she lunged at Flaky, knocking the painting to the floor.

"Oopsie daisy!"

Flaky shrieked again. Lammy was holding the carving knife in her right hand.

"Don't be scared, Flaky," she said, mockingly. "I was just going to fix you a sandwich."

Lammed slashed the painting and the canvas tore with a sick, ripping sound. Then she charged at Flaky.

Too late, Flaky tried to run. Lammy swung her left hand in a wide arc and landed a blow on the side of Flaky's face. Pain exploded in Flaky's head as Lammy struck her cheek-bone. She saw an explosion of lights in front of her eyes as she hit the ground.

She saw Lammy's thick ankles as Lammy stood over her body. Looking down at her, Lammy's face twisted into a menacing grimace. Flaky saw the thin sheen of her teeth as Lammy pulled her lips into a frightening grin.

Then, wordlessly, she drew the knife down Flaky's arm, slashing the fabric of her shirt. Horrified, Flaky saw Lammy prepare to slash again. Then she passed out.

"Flaky, wake up! Flaky!" It was her father's voice, she realised through a haze.

"Flaky!" He said again. Flaky blinked and stared at his face. She was lying on the floor of the studio, and he was cradling her head in his arms. Handy, the caretaker was with him.

Flaky jerked into a sitting position. "Where has Lammy gone? She was here! She slashed the painting! Look, she cut my shirt with a knife!"

Her dad and Handy didn't move. They just looked at each other.

"Well do something!" Flaky urged. "She'll come after me again!"

They still hadn't moved. Flaky turned her head to point out her ruined painting.

It was sitting on the easel, unharmed.

"When I came in, you were unconscious, and your painting was on the floor. I picked it up. It doesn't looked damaged."

Then Flaky looked at her arm. The sleeve of her shirt wasn't ripped. She hadn't been cut at all.

Her father pulled her close for a moment. Then he looked at her solemnly. "Lammy couldn't have been here, Flaky. They found her a few days ago, remember? She's in a mental hospital miles and miles from here."

It was true.

"I think I'm going crazy myself," Flaky murmured. "I keep thinking i see her, and it's so real!"

"I think I spooked you," said Handy. "I was so busy I forgot to remind you that we were closing, and then when I came in I kept talking to you, but you acted like you couldn't hear me. Then I came around the canvas and looked at you, and you started screaming."

"I thought I saw Lammy," Flaky said. "I imagined the whole thing! Oh, dad, I'm losing my mind!"

"Shh! Shh! That's not true," her father said gently. "You went through a terrifying experience. Your still scared that's all. You'll get through this thing, I know you will. I believe in you."

"I'm sorry I scared you," said Handy, sounding embarrassed. "Uh, your paintings okay, though, so you can finish it."

Flaky got to her feet and looked at the murky swirls of colour. "No, I don't think I will," she said after a moment. "I think I'll start something new, and different. Maybe that's a good way to start putting the whole experience behind me."

"I'm glad to hear you say that," her father said, his eyes shining as he smiled at her. "In face, I think that we should go somewhere and celebrate."

"Great idea." Flaky smiled back at him. They left the studio and walked down the empty corridor.

Alone in the studio, Handy stared at Flaky's painting for a moment. "Abstract art," he mumbled, shaking his head. "Weird." Then he shrugged and turned off the light.

* * *

**And there you go, the end. Awww, this counts as happy right...**


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